The North Carolina Cabinet are heads of the executive departments of the Government of North Carolina. All cabinet secretaries are appointed by the governor.
History
On June 26, 1972, North Carolina Governor Robert W. Scott created the "Executive Cabinet," an advisory body consisting of the members of the North Carolina Council of State, the appointed secretaries of the state's executive departments, and miscellaneous members appointed by the governor.
The Cabinet's size decreased by two on Jan. 1, 2012, when three Cabinet-level agencies, the North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, the North Carolina Department of Correction and the North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, were merged to become the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.Winston-Salem Journal
The Cabinet then expanded by two secretaries in 2015, with the creation of two new Departments: Information Technology, and Military and Veterans Affairs.News & Observer Then the Cabinet increased by one in 2022, with the creation of the new Department of Adult Correction.NC Policy Watch In 2025, Governor Josh Stein announced a Cabinet of 13 members, including the directors of the Office of State Human Resources and the Office of State Budget and Management.
Current members The current cabinet includes the following positions: PositionFormedIncumbentSecretary of Adult Correction2022Leslie Cooley DismukesABC11; NC Governor Josh Stein's newest cabinet members sworn inSecretary of Administration1957Gabe EsparzaSecretary of Commerce1971Lee LilleySecretary of Environmental Quality2015D. Reid Wilson Secretary of Health and Human Services1971Dev SangvaiSecretary/Chief Information Officer, Department of Information Technology2015 Nate DennySecretary of Military and Veterans Affairs2015Jocelyn Mitnaul MalletteSecretary of Natural and Cultural Resources1971Pamela Brewington CashwellPam Brewington Cashwell Sworn in as Secretary of N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (Jan. 3, 2025).Secretary of Public Safety1977Jeffrey SmytheGovernor's Press Release: Governor Stein Thanks Secretary Eddie Buffaloe for His Years of Public Service, Welcomes Jeffrey Smythe as New Secretary of Public SafetySecretary of Revenue1921McKinley Wooten, Jr.Secretary of Transportation1979Daniel JohnsonNCDOT
The governor's chief of staff also meets with the cabinet.
References
Works cited