Former Mount Pleasant Mayor & Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack will exit from his role as U.S. Agriculture Secretary in three weeks with the second-longest tenure as the nation’s top ag official. Tom grew up on the east coast and, after graduating from law school, Vilsack moved to his wife’s hometown of Mount Pleasant.
Vilsack was elected as the town’s mayor, then as a state senator before he won two terms as Iowa’s governor. Serving as Secretary of Agriculture during the Obama Administration and President Biden asked him to return to the role four years ago.
Tom said during an interview with Radio Iowa.. “It’s been a tremendous honor and privilege to have had nearly 12 years as the secretary of agriculture. It is an extension of work actually that began in a small town in southeast Iowa as a small town lawyer representing farmers during the Farm Crisis. It really sort of gave me a direction to my life which has ultimately ended up with me in this office.”
Former Mount Pleasant Mayor & Iowa Governor Vilsack, who turned 74 on December 13, is not planning to retire. Instead, he Hopes he can figure out ways to continue his contributions to Iowa Agriculture for its future.