Duncan CharlesJr

American businessman, administrator and politician who served as Secretary of Energy from 1979 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. With a degree in chemical engineering and a masters in business administration, he began his career in private industry, first for an oil company. In 1957 he joined his familys coffee business and became the companys President a year later. Under his leadership, the company expanded exponentially. In 1964 it merged with the Coca-Cola Company. Duncan was given the helm at Coca-Colas food division. From 1971 to 1974 he was President of the company. He left in 1974 and headed yet another company but two years later, President Carter summoned him to Washington where he was named Deputy Secretary of Defense. In July 1979 he was named Secretary of Energy. At the end of the Carter administration, he returned to Texas and co-founded an investment firm with his brother. Duncan and his wife, Anne (née Smith), had two children. He died at his home in Houston on 18 October 2022 from complications of a fall at the age of 96. Link to Wikipedia biography Read less