Hazel O'Leary
*Hazel O'Leary was born on this date in 1937. She is a Black politician and administrator.
Hazel Ried was born in Newport News, Virginia; she graduated from the former segregated Huntington High School of Newport News. O'Leary received her Bachelor's degree in history and government from Fisk University in 1959 and her law degree from Rutgers University in 1966. O'Leary worked as a prosecutor in New Jersey and was later a partner in the accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand. During the Jimmy Carter administration,
O'Leary was assistant administrator of the Federal Energy Administration, general counsel of the Community Services Administration, and the Economic Regulatory Administration administrator at the newly-created Department of Energy. In 1981, O'Leary established the consulting firm of O'Leary & Associates with her husband, serving as vice president and general counsel. From 1989 to 1993, she worked as an executive vice president of the Northern States Power Company. Also, O'Leary was nominated to be Secretary of Energy in 1993 by President Bill Clinton.
During this time, she was often accused of traveling too frequently and spending lavishly on her accommodations. She apologized to Congressional committees in 1996 for spending that exceeded the limits on the funds appropriated for travel and resigned in January 1997. It was later revealed that Chinagate scandal figure Johnny Chung claimed that O'Leary met with Chinese oil officials after Chung had donated $25,000 to O'Leary's favorite charity, Africare.
O'Leary has been married three times. Her first marriage to Carl G. Rollins, Jr., ended in divorce. The couple had a son, also named Carl. O'Leary was briefly married to ABC News anchorman Max Robinson. In 1977, she met John F. O'Leary, then Deputy Secretary of Energy. They married on April 24, 1980, and remained married until his death from cancer in 1987
O'Leary served as President of Fisk University in Nashville; she retired on January 31, 2013. Her honors and affiliations have included: Board of Directors, UAL Corp. (parent company of United Airlines), Alchemix Corp., Scottish Re Ltd., AES Corp., and World Wildlife Fund; Board of Trustees and co-chair, The Campaign for a New Century, Morehouse College; Phi Beta Kappa O'Leary is widowed. She has one son, Carl Rollins, 43, an attorney in Washington, D.C.
