The Federal Maritime Commission announced today that Harold J. Creel, Jr., has been sworn in as a Commissioner for a term to expire on June 30, 2009. Mr. Creel was nominated to his third term by President George W. Bush on November 16, 2004, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 20, 2004. He served as Chairman of the Commission from February 1996 to August 2002.
Prior to his appointment to the Commission he was the Senior Counsel of the Merchant Marine Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. He held that position from October 1989 to October 1994. As Senior Counsel of the Subcommittee, he advised the Committee Chairman, the Subcommittee Chairman, and all Democratic Senators on issues pertaining to commercial shipping.
Prior to coming to the
Commerce Committee, Mr. Creel was an attorney with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the Department of Commerce. In that capacity, he acted as the chief staff attorney on issues pertaining to endangered marine species. While at NOAA, he assisted the Department of Justice in administrative proceedings and litigation of cases involving endangered species issues. He also wrote, negotiated, and reviewed regulations implementing NOAA's legal authority.
A native of Florence, SC, Mr. Creel attended Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC and graduated in 1979 with a B.A. in Political Science. After graduating from Wofford College, he attended the University of South Carolina School of Law. There he wrote a South Carolina Law Review article entitled Barrier Islands: The Conflict Between Federal Programs that Promote Preservation and Those that Promote Development. He graduated from law school in 1982 and moved to New Orleans to practice in a law firm specializing in admiralty.