United States Secretary of Health and Human Services

Secretary of Health and Human Services of the United States of America
Seal of the Department of Health and Human Services
Flag of the Secretary of Health and Human Services
Incumbent Sylvia Mathews Burwell since June 9, 2014
United States Department of Health and Human Services
Style	Madam Secretary
Member of	Cabinet
Reports to	The President
Seat	Washington, D.C.
Appointer	The President with Senate advice and consent
Term length	No fixed term
Constituting instrument	Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1953 67 U.S.C. § 6301 42 U.S.C. § 3501
Formation	August 3, 1979
First holder	Patricia Roberts Harris
Succession	Eleventh in the United States Presidential Line of Succession
Deputy	Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services
Salary	Executive Schedule, level 1
Website	www.hhs.gov

The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, concerned with health matters. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet. The office was formerly Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.

In 1979, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was renamed the Department of Health and Human Services, and its education functions transferred to the new Department of Education. Patricia Roberts Harris headed the department before and after it was renamed.

Nominations to the office of Secretary of HHS are referred to the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over Medicare and Medicaid, before confirmation is considered by the full United States Senate.

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act the role of the Secretary has been greatly expanded.^[1][2]

Sylvia Mathews Burwell was nominated by President Obama on April 11, 2014, to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services after the resignation of Kathleen Sebelius.^[3] She was confirmed on June 5, 2014 and sworn in on June 9, 2014.^[4]

Duties

The flag of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, the predecessor to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

The duties of the secretary revolve around human conditions and concerns in the United States. This includes advising the president on matters of health, welfare, and income security programs. It strives to administer the Department of Health and Human Services to carry out approved programs and make the public aware of the objectives of the department.^[5]

Since the attacks of 9/11 and the subsequent anthrax attacks, the position has held a unique significance in the War on Terrorism. Upon his departure, then-Secretary Tommy Thompson remarked "I, for the life of me, cannot understand why the terrorists have not attacked our food supply, because it is so easy to do..." Scholars concur, arguing that an attack on food (particularly milk) could affect approximately 100,000 people.^[6]

The Department of Health and Human Services oversees 11 agencies including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Disease Control (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).^[7]

List of secretaries

Parties

      Democratic       Republican

No.	Portrait	Name	State of residence	Took office	Left office	President(s)
1		Oveta Culp Hobby	Texas	April 11, 1953	July 31, 1955		Dwight D. Eisenhower
2		Marion B. Folsom	New York	August 2, 1955	July 31, 1958
3		Arthur S. Flemming	Ohio	August 1, 1958	January 19, 1961
4		Abraham A. Ribicoff	Connecticut	January 21, 1961	July 13, 1962		John F. Kennedy
5		Anthony J. Celebrezze	Ohio	July 31, 1962	August 17, 1965
						Lyndon B. Johnson
6			John W. Gardner	California	August 18, 1965		March 1, 1968
7			Wilbur J. Cohen	Michigan	May 16, 1968		January 20, 1969
8		Robert H. Finch	California	January 21, 1969	June 23, 1970		Richard Nixon
9		Elliot L. Richardson	Massachusetts	June 24, 1970	January 29, 1973
10		Caspar W. Weinberger	California	February 12, 1973	August 8, 1975
							Gerald Ford
11		F. David Mathews	Alabama	August 8, 1975	January 20, 1977
12		Joseph A. Califano, Jr.	District of Columbia	January 25, 1977	August 3, 1979		Jimmy Carter
13		Patricia Roberts Harris	District of Columbia	August 3, 1979	May 4, 1980[8]
No.	Portrait	Name	State of residence	Took office	Left office	President(s)
13		Patricia Roberts Harris	District of Columbia	May 4, 1980[8]	January 20, 1981		Jimmy Carter
14		Richard S. Schweiker	Pennsylvania	January 22, 1981	February 3, 1983		Ronald Reagan
15		Margaret M. Heckler	Massachusetts	March 9, 1983	December 13, 1985
16		Otis R. Bowen	Indiana	December 13, 1985	January 20, 1989
17		Louis W. Sullivan	Georgia	March 1, 1989	January 20, 1993		George H. W. Bush
18		Donna Shalala	Wisconsin	January 22, 1993	January 20, 2001		Bill Clinton
19		Tommy G. Thompson	Wisconsin	February 2, 2001	January 26, 2005		George W. Bush
20		Michael O. Leavitt	Utah	January 26, 2005	January 20, 2009
21		Kathleen Sebelius	Kansas	April 28, 2009	June 9, 2014		Barack Obama
22		Sylvia Mathews Burwell	District of Columbia	June 9, 2014	Incumbent

Living former secretaries

Health, education, and welfare

As of May 2016, there are two living former Secretaries of Health, Education and Welfare, the oldest being Joseph A. Califano, Jr. (served 1977-1979, born 1931). The most recent Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare to die was Caspar Weinberger (served 1973-1975, born 1917), on March 28, 2006.

Name	Term of office	Date of birth (and age)
F. David Mathews	1975–1977	December 6, 1935
Joseph A. Califano, Jr.	1977–1979	May 15, 1931

Health and human services

A gathering of five secretaries in June 2015

As of May 2016, there are six living former Secretaries of Health and Human services, the oldest being Margaret Heckler (served 1986-1989, born 1931). The most recent Secretary of Health and Human services to die was Richard Schweiker (served 1981-1983, born 1926), on July 31, 2015.

Name	Term of office	Date of birth (and age)
Margaret M. Heckler	1983–1985	June 21, 1931
Louis W. Sullivan	1989–1993	November 3, 1933
Donna Shalala	1993–2001	February 14, 1941
Tommy G. Thompson	2001–2005	November 19, 1941
Michael O. Leavitt	2005-2009	February 11, 1951
Kathleen Sebelius	2009-2014	May 15, 1948

References

1. http://www.ropesgray.com/healthcarefraudabuse/
2. Leavitt, Michael O. (February 18, 2011). "Health reform's central flaw: Too much power in one office". The Washington Post.
3. Budget Chief Is Choice as New Health Secretary
4. "Biography: HHS Seretary". United States Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
5. "The President's Cabinet". Ben's Guide. 2007-02-01. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
6. Cox, Simon (2006-08-22). "US food supply 'vulnerable to attack'". BBC News. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
7. http://www.hhs.gov/about/foa/opdivs/index.html Operating divisions of the HHS.
8. Harris was Secretary on May 4, 1980, when the office changed names from Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to Secretary of Health and Human Services. Because the department merely changed names, she did not need to be confirmed again, and her term continued uninterrupted.

External links

• United States Department of Health and Human Services Official Website
• Department Of Health And Human Services Meeting Notices and Rule Changes from The Federal Register RSS Feed