Kenneth Lee Salazar (born March 2, 1955) is an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served as United States ambassador to Mexico from 2021 to 2025.

He later attended Colorado College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1977, and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School in 1981.

In this position, he authored the Great Outdoors Colorado Amendment, which created a massive land conservation program of which he became chairman.

[19] In his cabinet role, he established reforms that forced mining and petroleum operations to better protect the surrounding environment and helped plan and promote Denver's South Platte River Valley redevelopment, transforming the area from an abandoned wasteland to a vibrant economic center.

"[24] On May 23, 2005, Salazar was among the Gang of 14 moderate senators to forge a compromise on the Democrats' use of the filibuster against judicial appointments, thus blocking the Republican leadership's attempt to implement the so-called "nuclear option".

Salazar has skirmished with Focus on the Family, a Colorado-based conservative Christian group of national stature, over his stance on judicial nominees.

[25] In August 2006, Ken Salazar supported fellow Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman in his primary race against Ned Lamont in Connecticut.

Salazar's continued support of Lieberman, who successfully ran as an independent against Lamont, has rankled the anti-war wing of the Democratic Party.

[28] In 2007, Salazar was one of only a handful of Democrats to vote against a bill that would require the United States Army Corps of Engineers to consider global warming when planning water projects.

[33] He also supported the Bush administration's release of lands in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) for emergency haying in Colorado's Yuma and Phillips Counties.

3, and President George W. Bush signed it into law, providing such a fix by reducing the Secretary of Interior's salary to the level it was prior to the time Salazar took office in January 2009.

[39] As Secretary of the Interior, Salazar was in charge of the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the United States Geological Survey, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and other federal agencies overseen by the Interior Department.

Salazar worked to create new monuments to honor Cesar Chavez, the Buffalo Soldiers, Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, Fort Monroe and sacred Native American sites like Chimney Rock in Colorado.

As a westerner, Senator Salazar has hands on experience with land and water issues, and will restore the Department of the Interior's role as the steward of America's public resources.

[44] Colorado Governor Bill Ritter appointed Denver Superintendent of Schools Michael Bennet to finish Salazar's term in the Senate, which expired in January 2011.

"[45] On March 6, 2009, Salazar agreed to move forward with the Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to remove the Rocky Mountain gray wolf from the Endangered Species List in Montana and Idaho, but not Wyoming.

The policy states that, despite the apparent negative impact global warming has on polar bears, an endangered species, greenhouse gasses cannot be regulated with the ESA.

Salazar stated in a conference call announcing the decision that "The single greatest threat to the polar bear is the melting of Arctic Sea ice due to climate change," but the Endangered Species Act "is not the appropriate tool for us to deal with what is a global issue."

[47] In May 2009, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, and the state's both senators, Michael Bennet and Mark Udall, wrote a letter to President Obama, recommending Salazar be appointed to the Supreme Court following the resignation of David Souter.

[50] With Ritter's announcement on January 6, 2010, that he would not seek re-election as governor,[51] speculation began to swirl about a possible Salazar candidacy that year.

"[52] Both the Secretary's brother, John, and the Obama administration urged him to run for governor,[53] but he ultimately declined and endorsed Hickenlooper's campaign.

[60] He has dealt with criticism after pushing to impose tougher leasing rules and cancel a series of planned drilling operations in Alaska and elsewhere.

[62] Salazar also implemented a new five-year plan for responsible oil and gas exploration and development in America's offshore waters.

However, a new deepwater well had been started in the Gulf since April 20, and the Department of the Interior under Salazar had "issued permits for at least seventeen other new offshore oil projects.

[9] On November 8, 2016, Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the election for President of the United States, and thus Salazar was not granted the opportunity to head the White House transition team.

[81] In July 2022, the New York Times published an article quoting "growing concern within the Biden administration that the ambassador may have actually compromised U.S. interests" and had become too close to sitting Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.