Norman Mineta, who as federal transportation secretary ordered commercial flights grounded after the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001, has died. He was 90.
John Flaherty, Mineta’s former chief of staff, said Mineta died on Tuesday at his home in Edgewater, Maryland, east of the nation’s capital.
“His cause of death was a heart ailment,” Flaherty added. “He was an extraordinary public servant and a very dear friend.”
Mineta broke racial barriers in becoming mayor of San Jose, California, earlier in his political career. He later became the first Asian-American to become a federal Cabinet secretary, serving under both Democrat Bill Clinton and Republican George W. Bush.
As Bush’s transportation secretary, Mineta led the department during the 2001 attacks and was later charged with restoring confidence in air travel in the aftermath of 9/11.
Bush went on to award Mineta the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In a statement, the former president said Mineta was “a wonderful American story about someone who overcame hardship and prejudice to serve in the United States Army, Congress, and the Cabinet of two presidents.”
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