George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III^[1] (born December 20, 1946) is an American veterinarian, businessman, and politician who served as the 31st United States Secretary of Agriculture from 2017 to 2021.^[2] He previously served as the 81st Governor of Georgia from 2003 to 2011; Perdue was the first Republican to hold the office since the Reconstruction era.^[3]