Robert Clifton Weaver (December 29, 1907 – July 17, 1997) was an American economist, academic, and political administrator who served as the first United States secretary of housing and urban development (HUD) from 1966 to 1968, when the department was newly established by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Weaver directed federal programs during the administration of the New Deal, at the same time completing his doctorate in economics in 1934 at Harvard University.

[1] With a reputation for knowledge about housing issues, in 1934 the young Weaver was invited to join President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Black Cabinet.

[1][4] Roosevelt appointed a total of 45 prominent blacks to positions in executive agencies, and called on them as informal advisers on public policy issues related to African Americans, the Great Depression and the New Deal.

The program was intended to provide financial support to local housing departments, as a subsidy toward lowering the rent poor African Americans had to pay.

[citation needed] Weaver claimed the scope of this program was insufficient, as there were still many African Americans who made less than the average income.

Postwar suburban development, following the construction of highways, and economic restructuring had drawn population and jobs from the cities.

In public, President Lyndon B. Johnson reiterated Weaver's status as a potential nominee but would not promise him the position.

Johnson was worried about how the new Secretary would interact with congressional representatives from the Solid South; they were overwhelmingly Democrat as most African Americans were still disenfranchised and excluded from the political system.

As candidates, Johnson considered the politician Richard Daley, mayor of Chicago; and the philanthropist Laurance Rockefeller.

Ten days after receiving the report, the president put forward the nomination, and Weaver was successfully confirmed by the United States Senate.

[citation needed] Weaver served as Secretary of United States Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1966 to 1968.

[1] He served in advisory capacities to the United States Controller General (1973–1997), the New City Conciliation and Appeals Board (1973–1984), Harvard University School of Design (1978–1983), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense Fund and NAACP executive board committee (1978–1997).

[1][2] Weaver received more than 30 honorary university degrees,[1] as well as the following: Weaver wrote a number of books regarding black issues and urban housing, including: Herbert Aptheker reviewed The Negro Ghetto in the August 1948 issue of Masses and Mainstream (successor to the New Masses magazine).