John G. Veneman (October 31, 1925 – April 11, 1982) was a Republican

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

from

Modesto, California Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the List of cities and towns in Ca ...

. He was born in Corcoran and died in

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

. He was elected to the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

for the 30th District five times in succession, between 1962 and 1969. In 1969 he resigned to become Under Secretary at the

United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

under Secretary of HEW Robert Finch. In 1974 he was unsuccessful in a bid to become

Lieutenant Governor of California The lieutenant governor of California is the second highest Executive (government), executive officer of the government of the U.S. state of California. The Lieutenant governor (United States), lieutenant governor is elected to serve a four-yea ...

. He was the father of

Ann Veneman Ann Margaret Veneman (born June 29, 1949) is an American attorney who served as the fifth executive director of UNICEF from 2005 to 2010. She previously served as the 27th United States secretary of agriculture from 2001 to 2005. Veneman served f ...

United States Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments The department includes several organi ...

2001–2005. The portion of State Route 99 from the

Stanislaus County Stanislaus County ( ; ) is a county located in the San Joaquin Valley of the U.S. state of California. As of 2023, its estimated population is 564,404. The county seat is Modesto. Stanislaus County makes up the Modesto metropolitan statistic ...

line to State Route 132 in Modesto is named the "John G. Veneman Freeway". It was named by Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 171, Chapter 131, in 1984.

References

*http://www.joincalifornia.com/candidate/5690 *http://www.cahighways.org/097-104.html ;Specific Republican Party members of the California State Assembly 1925 births 1982 deaths People from Modesto, California People from Corcoran, California 20th-century members of the California State Legislature {{California-CAAssembly-stub