Michael J Copps

Michael J. Copps is the senior member of the Federal Communications Commission. He began his service in 2001 and was sworn in for his second term in 2005. Mr. Copps served from 1998 until January 2001 as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Trade Development at the U.S. Department of Commerce. In that role, Mr. Copps worked to improve market access and market share for nearly every sector of American industry, including information technologies and telecommunications. Mr. Copps devoted much of his time to building private sector-public sector partnerships to enhance our nation’s success in the global economy. From 1993 to 1998, Mr. Copps served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Basic Industries, a component of the Trade Development Unit. Mr. Copps moved to Washington in 1970 to join the staff of Senator Fritz Hollings (D-SC) and served for over a dozen years as Administrative Assistant and Chief of Staff. From 1985 to 1989, he served as Director of Government Affairs for a Fortune 500 Company. From 1989 to 1993, he was Senior Vice President for Legislative Affairs at a major national trade association. Mr. Copps, a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, received a B.A. from Wofford College and earned a Ph.D. in United States history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He taught US history at Loyola University of the South from 1967 to 1970. He and his wife Beth have five children and six grandchildren.