Ron Brown

Ronald Harmon Brown (August 1, 1941 – April 3, 1996) was an American politician. He was the United States Secretary of Commerce during the first term of President Bill Clinton from 1993 until his death in 1996. Before, he was chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 1989 to 1993. He was the first African American to be both Secretary of Commerce and DNC Chair.

Ron Brown
30th United States Secretary of Commerce
In office January 22, 1993 – April 3, 1996
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Barbara Franklin
Succeeded by	Mickey Kantor
Chair of the Democratic National Committee
In office February 11, 1989 – January 21, 1993
Preceded by	Paul G. Kirk
Succeeded by	David Wilhelm
Personal details
Born	Ronald Harmon Brown (1941-08-01)August 1, 1941 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Died	April 3, 1996(1996-04-03) (aged 54) near Dubrovnik, Croatia
Resting place	Arlington National Cemetery
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Alma Arrington
Children	2, including Michael
Education	Middlebury College (BA) St. John's University, New York (JD)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1962–1967
Rank	Captain
Battles/wars	Vietnam War

Brown was killed in a plane crash on April 3, 1996 near Dubrovnik, Croatia at the age of 54.^[1] At the time of his death, he was being investigated for corruption.^[2]