Hills, Carla Anderson (1934-…), served as United States secretary of housing and urban development from 1975 to 1977. Hills, who served in the post under President Gerald R. Ford, was the third woman Cabinet member in the nation’s history. The others were Frances Perkins and Oveta Culp Hobby.
As secretary of housing and urban development, Hills worked to help the nation’s housing industry recover from an economic slump of the 1970’s. She also directed programs to improve housing and living conditions in numerous communities.
Hills was born on Jan. 3, 1934, in Los Angeles. She graduated from Stanford University in 1955 and received a law degree from Yale University in 1958. From 1962 to 1974, she was a member of a Los Angeles law firm. Hills then served as an assistant United States attorney general and head of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice until Ford appointed her to the Cabinet post. From 1989 to 1993, Hills was U.S. special trade representative under President George H. W. Bush. In this position, she played a major role in negotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which provided for the elimination of tariffs and certain other trade barriers between the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
In 1993, after leaving her post as trade representative, Hills founded an international consulting firm. The firm advises companies on trade and investments in other countries.
