Asian American,
born November 12, 1931 in San Jose, California

• 1975 to 1995, he sat in the U.S. House of Representatives
• 2000-2001, he served as President Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Commerce
• 2001-2006, he served in President George W. Bush’s Cabinet as the United States Secretary of Transportation, the only Democratic Cabinet Secretary in the Bush administration

He was the first Asian American to hold a post in the presidential cabinet, the longest-serving (five years) Transportation Secretary in the Department's history, and only the fourth person to be a member of Cabinet under two Presidents from different political parties (after Edwin M. Stanton, Henry L. Stimson, and James R. Schlesinger).

In 2001, the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport in San Jose was named after him. The Mineta Transportation Institute, located at San Jose State University, and portions of California State Highway 85 are named after him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Mineta