Bill Nelson

Bill Nelson
Official portrait, 2021
14th Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Incumbent
Assumed office May 3, 2021
President	Joe Biden
Deputy	Pamela Melroy
Preceded by	Jim Bridenstine
Succeeded by	Jared Isaacman (nominee)
United States Senator from Florida
In office January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2019
Preceded by	Connie Mack III
Succeeded by	Rick Scott
Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Committee
In office January 3, 2015 – January 3, 2019
Preceded by	John Thune
Succeeded by	Maria Cantwell
Chair of the Senate Aging Committee
In office January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Herb Kohl
Succeeded by	Susan Collins
Treasurer, Insurance Commissioner, and Fire Marshal of Florida
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2001
Governor	Lawton Chiles Buddy MacKay Jeb Bush
Preceded by	Tom Gallagher
Succeeded by	Tom Gallagher
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida
In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1991
Preceded by	Louis Frey Jr. (9th) Dan Mica (11th)
Succeeded by	Michael Bilirakis (9th) Jim Bacchus (11th)
Constituency	9th district (1979–1983) 11th district (1983–1991)
Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 47th district
In office November 21, 1972 – November 21, 1978
Preceded by	Redistricted
Succeeded by	Tim Deratany
Personal details
Born	Clarence William Nelson II (1942-09-29) September 29, 1942 (age 82) Miami, Florida, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Grace Cavert ​ (m. 1972)​
Children	2
Education	University of Florida Yale University (BA) University of Virginia (JD)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1965–1968, 1970–1971 (Reserve) 1968–1970 (Active)
Rank	Captain
Space career
NASA payload specialist
Time in space	6d 02h 03m
Missions	STS-61-C
Mission insignia

Clarence William "Bill" Nelson II (born September 29, 1942)^[1] is an American politician and astronaut. Nelson is the 14th and current Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration since May 2021. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was the United States Senator from Florida from 2001 to 2019. He lost his re-election campaign in 2018 to Republican Governor Rick Scott.

He was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1972 to 1978 and in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1991. In January 1986, he became the second sitting member of Congress to fly in space, after Jake Garn. He was a payload specialist on the Space Shuttle Columbia.

Nelson retired from Congress in 1990 to run for Governor of Florida, but was lost the Democratic nomination to Lawton Chiles.

In March 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Nelson to be Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in his administration.^[2]

1. ↑ "Florida Marriage Collection, 1822–1875 and 1927–2001". Ancestry.com.
2. ↑ Cite error: The named reference :10 was used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page).