Michael Chertoff is the current United States Secretary of Homeland Security, and co-author of the controversial PATRIOT Act.

He previously served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals, as a federal prosecutor, and as assistant U.S. Attorney General. He was nominated to succeed Tom Ridge as United States Secretary of Homeland Security by President George W. Bush on January 11, 2005. His nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 15, 2005, in a unanimous 98-0 vote, and Chertoff was sworn into office the same day .