Seal of the United States Federal Trade Commission

The following is a list of individuals who have served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) beginning in 1949.

List of current commissioners

Current members of the FTC

The commission is headed by five commissioners, who each serve seven-year terms. Commissioners are nominated by the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and confirmed by the Senate. No more than three commissioners can be of the same

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

. In practice, this means that two commissions are of the opposition party. However, three members of the FTC throughout its history have been without party affiliation, with the most recent independent, Pamela Jones Harbour, serving from 2003 to 2009.

List of former commissioners

The following is a list of individuals who have served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) beginning in 1949, including party affiliation.

Backgrounds of commissioners

Demographics

As of 2021, there have been: * Three

African-Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...

to serve on the FTC:

A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. Aloysius Leon Higginbotham Jr. (February 25, 1928 – December 14, 1998) was an American civil rights advocate, historian, presidential adviser, and federal court judge. From 1990 to 1991, he served as chief judge of the United States Court of ...

(served from 1962 to 1964), Mozelle W. Thompson (served from 1997 to 2004), Pamela Jones Harbour (served from 2003 to 2009). * Three

Asian-Americans Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peopl ...

to serve on the FTC: Dennis Yao (served from 1991 to 1994),

Rohit Chopra Rohit (Devanagri: रोहित), ) is a given name, typically male, used among Indian people. It is also used in some parts of Nepal. It is mostly used by Jains, Hindus, and Sikhs. The word "rohit" signifies the color red. It is derived fro ...

(served since 2018), and

Lina Khan Lina M. Khan (born March 3, 1989) is a British-born American legal scholar serving as chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission since 2021. While a student at Yale Law School, she became known for her work in antitrust and competition law in ...

(served since 2021); Khan is the first Asian-American to serve as FTC Chair. * Three independents to serve on the FTC:

Philip Elman Philip Elman (March 14, 1918 – November 30, 1999) was an American lawyer at the United States Department of Justice and former member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Elman is best known for writing the government's brief in ''Brown v. ...

(served from 1961 to 1970), Mary Azcuenaga (served from 1984 to 1998), and Pamela Jones Harbour (served from 2003 to 2009)

Career backgrounds

The vast majority of FTC members have been individuals with legal backgrounds, with notable exceptions. President Ronald Reagan appointed the first two professional economists, James C. Miller III and George W. Douglas, to serve on the body. Dennis Yao, a Democrat who served from 1991 to 1994, held a Ph.D in economics, and Joshua D. Wright, a Republican who served from 2013 to 2015, held a both a J.D. and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in economics.{{Cite web, last=, date=2012-09-10, title=Josh Wright to be nominated to be next FTC Commissioner, url=https://truthonthemarket.com/2012/09/10/josh-wright-to-be-nominated-to-be-next-ftc-commissioner/, url-status=live, access-date=2021-09-27, website=Truth on the Market, language=en-US

References

Federal Trade Commission Federal Trade Commission personnel