George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III (born December 20, 1946) is an American politician, veterinarian, and businessman who served as the 31st United States secretary of agriculture from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 81st governor of Georgia from 2003 to 2011 and as a member of the Georgia State Senate from 1991 to 2002.
Founder and partner in an agricultural trading company, Perdue was elected governor of Georgia in 2002, defeating incumbent Roy Barnes and becoming the first Republican to hold the office in 130 years. He was reelected in 2006 with nearly 60% of the vote. He later served from 2012 to 2017 on the Governors' Council of the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C.
On January 18, 2017, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Perdue to be Secretary of Agriculture. His nomination was transmitted to the U.S. Senate on March 9, 2017.Congressional Record for March 9, 2017 His nomination was approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee by a 19–1 voice vote on March 30. His appointment was approved by an 87–11 vote by the Senate on April 24. He became the second secretary of agriculture from the Deep South, after Mike Espy of Mississippi. Perdue served as Secretary of Agriculture throughout Trump's first term.
On March 1, 2022, the Board of Regents of University System of Georgia appointed Perdue as the system's 14th chancellor, effective April 1, 2022. He announced his retirement on April 15, 2026.
Early life and education Perdue was born in Perry, Georgia, the son of Ophie Viola (Holt), a teacher, and George Ervin Perdue Jr., a farmer. He grew up and still lives in Bonaire, an unincorporated area between Perry and Warner Robins. Born George Ervin Perdue III, Perdue has been known as Sonny since childhood, and prefers to be called by that name; he was sworn in and signs official documents as "Sonny Perdue". Perdue is the first cousin of former U.S. Senator David Perdue by their grandfather George Ervin Perdue I.
Perdue played quarterback at Warner Robins High School and was a walk-on at the University of Georgia, where he was also a member of the Beta-Lambda chapter of Kappa Sigma fraternity.Kappa Sigma Fraternity: Prominent Alumni Perdue was named Kappa Sigma Man of the Year in 2005.
In 1971, Perdue earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, and worked as a veterinarian before becoming a small business owner, eventually starting three small businesses.National Governors Association: Sonny Perdue
Perdue is not related to the family who owns and operates Perdue Farms (commonly associated with the brand "Perdue Chicken").
Career
Perdue served in the U.S. Air Force, rising to the rank of captain before his discharge.
State senator (1991–2002) After serving as a member of the Houston County Planning & Zoning Commission in the 1980s, Perdue ran as a Democrat for a seat in the Georgia Senate. He defeated Republican candidate Ned Sanders in 1990 and succeeded Democratic incumbent Ed Barker as the senator representing the 18th district.Our Campaigns: GA Senate 18
Perdue was elected as a Democrat in 1991, 1994, and 1996. He served as his party's leader in the Senate from 1994 to 1997 and as president pro tempore.Charles S. Bullock, III, The Georgia Political Almanac, The General Assembly 1993–94. After his first year in office, Senator Perdue wrote then Lt. Governor Pierre Howard asking for more responsibilities, and Howard obliged. He shortly thereafter became a committee chairman, then climbed the leadership ladder to majority leader and to Senate president pro tempore. Many credit Pierre Howard for helping Perdue build the early foundation of what would become his future political career.
His committee assignments included Ethics, Finance & Public Utilities, Health & Human Services, Reapportionment, and Economic Development, Tourism & Cultural Affairs.
He switched party affiliation from Democrat to Republican in 1998 amid feuding with then-Majority Leader Charles Walker and was re-elected to the State Senate as a Republican. He also won reelection in 2000.
Governor of Georgia (2003–2011) Elections 2002
In December 2001, Perdue resigned as state senator and devoted himself entirely to running for the office of Governor of Georgia. He won the 2002 Georgia gubernatorial election, defeating Democratic incumbent Roy Barnes 51% to 46%, with Libertarian candidate Garrett Michael Hayes taking 2% of the vote. He became the first Republican governor of Georgia in 131 years since Benjamin F. Conley.
2006
In 2006, Perdue was re-elected to a second term in the 2006 Georgia gubernatorial election, winning nearly 58% of the vote. His Democratic opponent was Lieutenant Governor Mark Taylor. Libertarian Garrett Michael Hayes was also on the ballot.
Political positions Economic issues
Perdue advocated reforms designed to cut waste in government, most notably the sale of surplus vehicles and real estate.Bipartisan Policy: Sonny Perdue Prior to Perdue's becoming governor, no state agency had compiled an inventory of what assets were owned by the state.
In January 2003, Perdue signed an executive order prohibiting himself and all other state employees from receiving any gift worth more than $25. During his governorship, Perdue collected at least $25,000 in gifts, including sporting event tickets and airplane flights.
Late in the evening of March 29, 2005, the penultimate day of the legislative session, Representative Larry O'Neal, who also worked part-time as Perdue's personal lawyer, introduced legislation making capital gains tax owed on Georgia land sales deferrable if the income goes to purchase out-of-state land, also, unusually, making the tax break retroactive. Perdue signed the legislation into law on April 12, 2005, three days before tax day. Perdue then used the new law on his 2004 tax return to defer $100,000 in taxable gains from the sale of land.
In 2007, Perdue convinced a skeptical legislature to approve a $19 million fishing tourism program he called Go Fish Georgia. Perdue then decided that the Go Fish Education Center would be built down the road from his home.
Education reform On education, Perdue promoted the return of most decision-making to the local level. After Perdue took office, in 2003 and 2004, Georgia moved up from last place in the country in SAT scores. Although it returned to last place in 2005, Georgia rose to 49th place in 2006 in the combined math and reading mean score, including the writing portion added to the test that year. In 2007, Georgia moved up to 46th place. In 2008, Georgia moved up again, to 45th place. Perdue also created additional opportunities for charter schools and private schools.
Georgia state flag In 2001, Democratic governor Roy Barnes replaced the 1956 state flag, which incorporated the battle flag of the Confederacy, and which had been adopted by Georgia largely as a protest against desegregation. In his 2002 election campaign, Perdue promised that he would let the state's citizens vote to determine the state flag. The choices were a modified version of the First National Flag of the Confederate States of America, with the Georgia State Seal prominently displayed inside a circle of 13 stars, or the flag created in 2001 by the Roy Barnes administration. The design of the 2001 Georgian flag was widely unpopular, being derisively named the "Barnes flag". The North American Vexillological Association had deemed it the ugliest U.S. state flag. Perdue disappointed some Georgians by not making the 1956 flag one of the choices on the ballot, despite a campaign promise to do so. However, Perdue was faced with a Democratic House that would not allow the 1956 flag to be included in the referendum, due to its Confederate origins, and he needed support for a tobacco tax he wanted to pass to raise revenue.
Environmental issues In 2004, Perdue sued the Environmental Protection Agency to block environmental regulations on reformulated gasoline.
In October 2007, Perdue directed the state of Georgia to sue the United States Army Corps of Engineers in an effort to withhold Lake Lanier's depleting water supply, which had been diminished by a drought affecting the region. Perdue argued that continuing the usual practice of diverting the water downstream to preserve habitat conditions for endangered mussels and other species in Florida and Alabama was an "ill-advised choice" that unfairly prioritized species of mussels and sturgeon above humans living in Georgia. Perdue dropped the lawsuit a few weeks later, citing President George W. Bush's intervention which limited the amount of water that could be released from the lake.
In a 2014 editorial published by National Review, Perdue criticized attempts by "some on the left or in the mainstream media" to connect climate change to weather events. Perdue wrote that "liberals have lost all credibility when it comes to climate science because their arguments have become so ridiculous and so obviously disconnected from reality." In 2019, he said that "we don't know" what causes climate change. When asked what could be causing it other than humans, Perdue said, “You know, I think it’s weather patterns, frankly. And you know, and they change, as I said. It rained yesterday, it’s a nice pretty day today. So the climate does change in short increments and in long increments."
Immigration In 2006, Perdue signed a law that gave Georgia "some of the nation's toughest measures against illegal immigrants."
Georgia drought
On November 13, 2007, while Georgia suffered from one of the worst droughts in several decades, Perdue led a group of several hundred people in prayer on the steps of the state Capitol. Perdue addressed the crowd, saying "We've come together here simply for one reason and one reason only: to very reverently and respectfully pray up a storm" and "God, we need you; we need rain." According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "As the vigil ended, the sun shone through what had been a cloudy morning. In fact, for the next two weeks after the prayer, the state's epic dry streak grew worse."
African-Americans in the Confederacy According to a March 5, 2008, proclamation by Perdue, "Among those who served the Confederacy were many African-Americans, both free and slave, who saw action in the Confederate armed forces in many combat roles. According to the Georgia government's website on Confederate History Month, they also participated in the manufacture of products for the war effort, built naval ships, and provided military assistance and relief efforts..."The Confederate and Neo-Confederate Reader: The "Great Truth" The proclamation was criticized by historians for its historical inaccuracies, although there were, in fact, African-Americans who served the Confederacy. However, most served in the early years of the war and were either forced at gunpoint or feared reprisals for disloyalty.
Disaster preparedness In 2008, Perdue worked with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency to implement Ready Georgia, a campaign to increase disaster preparedness throughout the state. The next year, Georgia was affected by the September floods, which were the most severe in Georgia's recorded history. The floods resulted in Perdue declaring a state of emergency in 17 counties.
Go Fish Education Center criticism Beginning in 2007, Governor Perdue began to pursue the goal of making Georgia the "bass-fishing tourism mecca". The administration began acquiring bond money for the Go Fish Education Center near his home in Perry, GA. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, payments on the Go Fish bonds, approved by Perdue and the General Assembly in 2007, runs through December 2027 with most payments $1 million a year in bond money.