Mineta, who created TSA after 9/11, dies

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Norman Mineta, who broke racial barriers for Asian Americans serving in high-profile government posts and ordered commercial flights grounded after the 9/11 terror attacks as the nation’s federal transportation secretary, died Tuesday. He was 90.

John Flaherty, Mineta’s former chief of staff, said Mineta died peacefully at his home surrounded by family in Edgewater, Maryland, east of the nation’s capital.

“His cause of death was a heart ailment,” Flaherty added. “He was an extraordinary public servant and a very dear friend.”

Mineta broke racial barriers for Asian Americans in becoming mayor of San Jose, California, early in his political career. He later became the first Asian American to become a federal Cabinet secretary, serving under both Democratic President Bill Clinton and Republican George W. Bush.

Bush went on to award Mineta the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In a statement, the former president said Mineta was “a wonderful American story about someone who overcame hardship and prejudice to serve in the United States Army, Congress, and the Cabinet of two Presidents.”

As Bush’s transportation secretary, Mineta led the department during the crisis of Sept. 11, 2001.

Mineta was subsequently tasked with restoring confidence in air travel in the aftermath of the terror attacks. He oversaw the hasty creation of the Transportation Security Administration, which took over responsibility for aviation security from the airlines.