george ervin "sonny" perdue iii (born december 20, 1946) is an american politician. he was the 31st united states secretary of agriculture from april 25, 2017 to january 20, 2021. he was the 81st governor of georgia from 2003 to 2011. in january 2003, he became the first republican governor of georgia since reconstruction. perdue served on the governors’ council of the bipartisan policy center in washington, d.c..