James G. Watt
James Gaius Watt ( born January 31, 1938 in Lusk, Wyoming ) is a former American politician ( Republican). He was interior minister from 1981 to 1983 the Cabinet of President Ronald Reagan.
Watts attended the University of Wyoming, where in 1960 he earned a bachelor's degree in 1962 and a law degree. His first job in politics, he took over as members of the Republican U.S. Senator Milward L. Simpson of Wyoming, whom he met through his son Alan. 1966 Watt Secretary of the Committee for Natural Resources and the Advisory Panel on Pollution of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. 1969, with the government takeover by Richard Nixon, he was the Deputy State Secretary for Water and energy supply in the U.S. Department of Interior. In 1975, he became Deputy Chairman of the Federal Power Commission ( Federal Power Commission).
In 1976 he founded the Mountain States Legal Foundation, an advocacy group that offers legal advice to the defense of individual freedoms, particularly in terms of economic and property rights on a pro bono basis. Environmental organizations have been criticized as a " training ground for a number of attorneys most active in the anti- environmental movement". Some lawyers who worked for Watt at the MSLF are later became a minister of the federal government, including Ann Veneman and Gale Norton.
His tenure at the Home Office (January 23, 1981 to November 8, 1983 ) was controversial, mainly because of its alleged opposition to environmental policy and its support for the use of lands in Federal ownership by logging, ranching, and other commercial interests. Even his " born-again " Christianity was heavily criticized by some, eg as in 1983 the Beach Boys uttered a performance ban for her appearance on the national holiday on the National Mall because rock concerts would be " undesirable elements " induced drag.
In 1995, he was charged with 25 offenses, including obstruction of justice and perjury. He settled on a deal and was vereurteilt to five years in prison and 500 hours of community service.
Watt is a supporter of Pentecostalism.