Christopher L. Clark Deschene is an American politician, attorney, and energy development expert. A member of the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native Americans in the United States, Native American Indian reservation, reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwe ...

, Deschene was the Democratic Party's candidate for Secretary of State in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

in 2010, and served as a

Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-re ...

official in the Barack Obama Administration.

Biography

Deschene was born in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, but moved with his parents, a homemaker from

Dennehotso, Arizona Dennehotso ( nv, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Apache County, Arizona, United States. The population was 746 at the 2010 census. Geography Dennehotso is located at (36.837286, -109.860884). According to the United States Census Bure ...

and a welder from

Tuba City, Arizona Tuba City ( nv, ) is an unincorporated town in Coconino County, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation, United States. It is the second-largest community in Coconino County. The population of the census-designated place (CDP) was 8,611 at the 2010 cen ...

. Deschene spent his youth in LeChee, Arizona and attended high school in

Page, Arizona Page is a city in Coconino County, Arizona, United States, near the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 7,247. History Unlike other cities in the area, Page was founded in 1957 as a housing co ...

. After graduating from high school in 1989, Deschene attended the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

, graduating in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

. He was deployed on several missions overseas, including the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

. After completing two tours of active duty, Deschene continued on as a

reservist A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is ...

for a total of 10 years of military service. After leaving the Marines, Deschene earned a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from the

Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (ASU Law) is one of the professional graduate schools at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona. The school is located in the Beus Center for Law and Society on ASU's downtown Phoenix campus. The law ...

, and a Master's of Science degree in Engineering from the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. His grandfather was a Navajo code talker during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Career

He subsequently co-founded Law Office of Schaff & Clark Deschene, specializing in questions of energy infrastructure. Deschene worked at this firm for a decade before joining the Obama Administration in 2015. Deschene served as a member of the

Arizona House of Representatives The Arizona State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The upper house is the Senate. The House convenes in the legislative chambers at the Arizona State C ...

from 2009 to 2011, representing District 2. He was member of both the Committee for Natural Resources and Rural Affairs and the Committee for Water and Energy. Prior to his election to the legislature, he was the chair of the

Apache County Apache County is in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. Shaped in a long rectangle running north to south, as of the 2020 census, its population was 66,021. The county seat is St. Johns. Most of the county is occupied by par ...

Democratic Party from 2007 to 2008 and the chair of the Native American Democratic Caucus. In 2010, he won the Democratic Party's nomination for Secretary of State, beating Sam Wercinski with 62.7% vs. 37.3% of the votes. He lost the general election to

Ken Bennett Kenneth Roy Bennett (born August 1, 1959) is an American businessman and politician who served as president of the Arizona Senate and served as the 19th Secretary of State of Arizona, from 2009 to 2015. He was a candidate for Governor of Arizona ...

. In the

Navajo Nation presidential election, 2015 The 2015 Navajo Nation Presidential Election was held on April 21, 2015, with the primary on August 26, 2014. Joe Shirley Jr. and Chris Deschene advanced to the general. Originally the general election between Shirley and Deschene was to be held ...

he ran for president of the

, though he was later disqualified by the Navajo Nation Office of Hearings and Appeals for failing to show fluency in the

Navajo language Navajo or Navaho (; Navajo: or ) is a Southern Athabaskan language of the Na-Dené family, through which it is related to languages spoken across the western areas of North America. Navajo is spoken primarily in the Southwestern United Stat ...

. In 2015, Deschene joined the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United States ...

as the Director for the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, serving under Secretary Ernest Moniz. He served in the role through the end of the administration and aided in the transition effort. In June 2017, he joined Rosette, LLP as a partner in their Washington, D.C. office, where he practices energy law.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deschene, Chris Living people Democratic Party members of the Arizona House of Representatives Navajo Nation politicians Navajo people United States Naval Academy alumni United States Marine Corps officers People from Tuba City, Arizona 1970 births 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native Americans