View source for Secretary of Health and Human Services

{{Short description|Government position}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2019}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = United States Secretary
| body = Health and Human Services
| flag = Flag of the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services.svg
| flagborder = yes
| flagsize = 130
| flagcaption = Flag of the secretary
| insignia = US Department of Health and Human Services seal.svg
| insigniasize = 120
| insigniacaption = Seal of the department
| image = HHS Xavier Becerra (cropped).jpg
| incumbent = [[Xavier Becerra]]
| incumbentsince = March 19, 2021
| acting = no
| department = [[United States Department of Health and Human Services]]
| style = Mr. Secretary (informal)<br>[[The Honourable#United States|The Honorable]] (formal)
| member_of = the [[United States Cabinet]]
| reports_to = [[President of the United States]]
| seat = [[Hubert H. Humphrey Building]], [[Washington, D.C.]]
| appointer = [[President of the United States]]
| appointer_qualified = with [[United States Senate|Senate]] [[advice and consent]]
| termlength = At the President's Pleasure
| constituting_instrument = Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1953<br>{{USStat|67|631}}<br>{{UnitedStatesCode|42|3501}}
| formation = {{start date and age|1953|4|11}}
| first = [[Oveta Culp Hobby]]
| succession = [[United States presidential line of succession|Twelfth]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/3/19|title=3 U.S. Code § 19 - Vacancy in offices of both President and Vice President; officers eligible to act|website=LII / Legal Information Institute|access-date=November 10, 2017}}</ref>
| deputy = [[United States Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services]]
| salary = [[Executive Schedule|Executive Schedule, Level I]]
| website = {{url|https://www.hhs.gov/about/leadership/index.html|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]], and serves as the principal advisor to the [[president of the United States]] on all health matters. The secretary is a member of the [[United States Cabinet]]. The office was formerly Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. In 1980, the [[United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare|Department of Health, Education, and Welfare]] was renamed the Department of Health and Human Services, and its education functions and [[Rehabilitation Services Administration]] were transferred to the new [[United States Department of Education]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fwu4iZpmCNMC&q=979%2C+the+Department+of+Health%2C+Education%2C+and+Welfare+was+renamed+the+Department+of+Health+and+Human+Services%2C&pg=PA51|title=Foundations of Education: History and theory of teaching children and youths with visual impairments |last=Holbrook |first=M. Cay|date=February 6, 2017|publisher=American Foundation for the Blind |isbn=9780891283409|language=en}}</ref> [[Patricia Roberts Harris]] headed the department before and after it was renamed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://millercenter.org/president/essays/harris-1977-secretary-of-housing-and-urban-development|title=Patricia R. Harris (1977–1979)—Miller Center|website=millercenter.org|language=en|access-date=February 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207112800/http://millercenter.org/president/essays/harris-1977-secretary-of-housing-and-urban-development|archive-date=February 7, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Nominations to the office of Secretary of HHS are referred to the [[United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions|Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee]] and the [[United States Senate Committee on Finance]], which has jurisdiction over Medicare and Medicaid,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.finance.senate.gov/about/jurisdiction|title=Jurisdiction {{!}} The United States Senate Committee on Finance|website=finance.senate.gov|language=en|access-date=February 6, 2017|archive-date=February 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207031354/https://www.finance.senate.gov/about/jurisdiction|url-status=dead}}</ref> before confirmation is considered by the full [[United States Senate]].

Secretary of Health and Human Services is a [[Executive Schedule#Level I|level I position in the Executive Schedule]],<ref>{{UnitedStatesCode|5|5312}}</ref> thus earning a salary of [[US Dollar|US$]]246,400, as of January 2024.<ref name="Salary">{{cite web |title=Salary Table No. 2024-EX Rates of Basic Pay for the Executive Schedule (EX) |url=https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/pdf/2024/EX.pdf |access-date=14 November 2024}}</ref>

[[Xavier Becerra]] has served as the 25th United States secretary of health and human services since March 19, 2021, the first person of Latino descent to hold the post.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/becerra-points-latino-successes-first-year-hhs-secretary-rcna20141 | title=Becerra points to Latino successes in his first year as HHS secretary | website=[[NBC News]] | date=March 18, 2022 }}</ref>

==Duties==
[[File:Flag of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.png|thumb|left|upright|The flag of the secretary of health, education, and welfare, the predecessor to the current office.]]
The duties of the secretary revolve around human conditions and concerns in the [[United States]]. This includes advising the [[President of the United States|president]] on matters of [[health]], [[Social (security)|welfare]], and income security programs. The secretary 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=The President's Cabinet|url=http://bensguide.gpo.gov/9-12/government/national/cabinet.html|publisher=Ben's Guide|date=February 1, 2007|access-date=November 15, 2007}}</ref>

The [[:simple:United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare|Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW)]] was reorganized into a [[United States Department of Education|Department of Education]] and a [[United States Department of Health and Human Services|Department of Health and Human Services (US DHHS)]].

The Department of Health and Human Services oversees 11 agencies including the [[Food and Drug Administration|Food and Drug Administration (FDA)]], [[Centers for Disease Control|Centers for Disease Control (CDC)]], [[National Institutes of Health|National Institutes of Health (NIH)]], [[Administration for Children and Families|Administration for Children and Families (ACF)]] and [[Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hhs.gov/about/foa/opdivs/index.html|title=HHS Agencies & Offices {{!}} HHS.gov |access-date=November 10, 2017}}</ref>

==List of secretaries==
; Parties
{{legend2|{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} (9)
{{legend2|{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}|[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} (15)
{{legend2|{{party color|Independent (politician)}}|[[Independent (politician)|Independent]]|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}} (2)

'''Status'''

{{legend2|#e6e6aa|Denotes acting HHS Secretary|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend2|#cec1e7|Nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|colspan=8 |

===Health, education, and welfare===
|-
!No.
!Portrait
!Name
!State of residence
!Took office
!Left office
!colspan=2 |[[President of the United States|President(s)]]
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|1}}
|[[File:Hobby-Oveta-Culp.jpg|75px]]
|[[Oveta Culp Hobby]]
|[[Texas]]
|April 11, 1953
|July 31, 1955
| rowspan="3" style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |
| rowspan="3" |[[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|2}}
|[[File:Folsom.jpg|75px]]
|[[Marion B. Folsom]]
|[[New York (state)|New York]]
|August 2, 1955
|July 31, 1958
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|3}}
|[[File:ArthurSFlemming.jpg|75px]]
|[[Arthur Sherwood Flemming|Arthur S. Flemming]]
|[[Ohio]]
|August 1, 1958
|January 19, 1961
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|4}}
|[[File:Ribicoff.jpg|75px]]
|[[Abraham Ribicoff|Abraham A. Ribicoff]]
|[[Connecticut]]
|January 21, 1961
|July 13, 1962
| rowspan="2" style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |
| rowspan="2" |[[John F. Kennedy]]
|-
|-
!rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|5}}
|rowspan=2 |[[File:Celebrez.jpg|75px]]
|rowspan=2; nowrap |[[Anthony J. Celebrezze]]
|rowspan=2 |[[Ohio]]
|rowspan=2 |July 31, 1962
|rowspan=2 |August 17, 1965
|-
|rowspan=3 style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |
|rowspan=3 |[[Lyndon B. Johnson]]
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|6}}
|[[File:John W. Gardner, U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.jpg|75px]]
|[[John W. Gardner]]
|[[California]]
|August 18, 1965
|March 1, 1968
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|7}}
|[[File:Wilburportrait.jpg|75px]]
|[[Wilbur J. Cohen]]
|[[Michigan]]
|May 16, 1968
|January 20, 1969
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|8}}
|[[File:Robert Finch, 1967.jpg|75px]]
|[[Robert Finch (politician)|Robert H. Finch]]
|[[California]]
|January 21, 1969
|June 23, 1970
| rowspan="3" style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |
| rowspan="3" |[[Richard Nixon]]
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|9}}
|[[File:ElliotLeeRichardson.jpg|75px]]
|[[Elliot Richardson|Elliot L. Richardson]]
|[[Massachusetts]]
|June 24, 1970
|January 29, 1973
|-
!rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|10}}
|rowspan=2 |[[File:Caspar Weinberger official photo.jpg|75px]]
|rowspan=2 |[[Caspar Weinberger]]
|rowspan=2 |[[California]]
|rowspan=2 |February 12, 1973
|rowspan=2 |August 8, 1975
|-
|rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |
|rowspan=2 |[[Gerald Ford]]
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Independent (politician)}};" |{{color|black|11}}
|[[File:F. David Mathews.jpg|75px]]
|[[F. David Mathews]]
|[[Alabama]]
|August 8, 1975
|January 20, 1977
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|12}}
|[[File:Swearing-in of Joseph Califano, Secretary of HEW - NARA - 173478 (cropped).tif|75px]]
|[[Joseph A. Califano Jr.]]
|[[District of Columbia]]
|January 25, 1977
|August 3, 1979
|rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |
|rowspan=2 |[[Jimmy Carter]]
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|13}}
|[[File:Patricia R. Harris official portrait.jpg|75px]]
|[[Patricia Roberts Harris]]
|[[District of Columbia]]
|August 3, 1979
|May 4, 1980<ref name=PatriciaHarris>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.</ref>
|-
|colspan=8 |

===Health and human services===
|-
!No.
!Portrait
!Name
!State of residence
!Took office
!Left office
!colspan=2 |[[President of the United States|President(s)]]
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|13}}
|[[File:Patricia R. Harris official portrait.jpg|75px]]
|[[Patricia Roberts Harris]]
|[[District of Columbia]]
|May 4, 1980<ref name=PatriciaHarris />
|January 20, 1981
|style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |
|[[Jimmy Carter]]
|-
! style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|14}}
|[[File:Secretary Richard Schweiker.jpg|75px]]
|[[Richard Schweiker|Richard S. Schweiker]]
|[[Pennsylvania]]
|January 22, 1981
|February 3, 1983
|rowspan=4 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |
|rowspan="3" |[[Ronald Reagan]]
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|15}}
|[[File:Mmheckler.JPG|75px]]
|[[Margaret Heckler|Margaret M. Heckler]]
|[[Massachusetts]]
|March 10, 1983
|December 13, 1985
|-
! style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|16}}
|[[File:Otis R. Bowen.jpg|75px]]
|[[Otis Bowen|Otis R. Bowen]]
|[[Indiana]]
|December 13, 1985
|March 1, 1989
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|17}}
|[[File:SullivanLouis.jpg|75px]]
|[[Louis W. Sullivan]]
|[[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
|March 1, 1989
|January 20, 1993
|[[George H. W. Bush]]
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|18}}
|[[File:Shalala portrait.jpg|75px]]
|[[Donna Shalala]]
|[[Wisconsin]]
|January 22, 1993
|January 20, 2001
|style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |
|[[Bill Clinton]]
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|19}}
|[[File:Tommy Thompson 1.jpg|75px]]
|[[Tommy Thompson|Tommy G. Thompson]]
|[[Wisconsin]]
|February 2, 2001
|January 26, 2005
|rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |
|rowspan=2 |[[George W. Bush]]
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|20}}
|[[File:Mike Leavitt.jpg|75px]]
|[[Mike Leavitt|Michael O. Leavitt]]
|[[Utah]]
|January 26, 2005
|January 20, 2009
|-
!style="background:#E6E6AA;" |{{color|black|–}}
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |[[File:JohnsonCharlesE.jpg|75px]]
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |[[Charles E. Johnson (government official)|Charles E. Johnson]]
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |[[Utah]]
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |January 20, 2009
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |April 28, 2009
|rowspan=3 style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |
|rowspan=3 |[[Barack Obama]]
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|21}}
|[[File:Kathleen Sebelius official portrait (cropped).jpg|75px]]
|[[Kathleen Sebelius]]
|[[Kansas]]
|April 28, 2009
|June 9, 2014
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|22}}
|[[File:Sylvia Mathews Burwell official portrait (cropped).jpg|75px]]
|[[Sylvia Mathews Burwell]]
|[[West Virginia]]
|June 9, 2014
|January 20, 2017
|-
!style="background:#E6E6AA;" |{{color|black|–}}
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |[[File:Norris Cochran (cropped).jpg|75px]]
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |[[Norris Cochran]]
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |[[Florida]]
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |January 20, 2017
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |February 10, 2017
|rowspan=5 style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |
|rowspan=5 |[[Donald Trump]]
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|23}}
|[[File:Tom Price official photo (cropped).jpg|border|75px]]
|[[Tom Price (American politician)|Tom Price]]
|[[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
|February 10, 2017
|September 29, 2017
|-
!style="background:#E6E6AA;" |{{color|black|–}}
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |[[File:Don J. Wright official portrait (cropped).jpg|75px]]
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |[[Don J. Wright]]
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |[[Virginia]]
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |September 29, 2017
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |October 10, 2017
|-
!style="background:#E6E6AA;" |{{color|black|–}}
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |[[File:Eric D. Hargan official photo (cropped).jpg|75px]]
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |[[Eric Hargan]]
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |[[Illinois]]
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |October 10, 2017
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |January 29, 2018
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Republican Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|24}}
|[[File:Alex Azar official portrait (cropped).jpg|border|75px]]
|[[Alex Azar]]
|[[Indiana]]
|January 29, 2018
|January 20, 2021
|-
!style="background:#E6E6AA;" |{{color|black|–}}
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |[[File:Norris Cochran (cropped).jpg|75px]]
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |[[Norris Cochran]]
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |[[Florida]]
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |January 20, 2021
|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |March 19, 2021
|rowspan=2 style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |
|rowspan=2 |[[Joe Biden]]
|-
!style="background: {{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}};" |{{color|white|25}}
|[[File:HHS Xavier Becerra (cropped).jpg|border|75px]]
|[[Xavier Becerra]]
|[[California]]
|March 19, 2021
|''Incumbent''
|}

==Line of succession==
The line of succession for the secretary of health and human services is as follows:<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2008/02/20/08-797/providing-an-order-of-succession-within-the-department-of-health-and-human-services|title=Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Health and Human Services|date=February 20, 2008 |newspaper=Federal Register|access-date=October 30, 2016}}</ref>
# [[United States Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services|Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services]].
# General Counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services
# Assistant Secretary for Administration
# [[Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation]]
# Administrator of the [[Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services]]
# [[Commissioner of Food and Drugs]]
# Director of the [[National Institutes of Health]]
# Assistant Secretary for [[Administration for Children and Families|Children and Families]]
# Other assistant secretaries (following in the order they took the oath of office)
## [[United States Assistant Secretary for Health|Assistant Secretary for Health]]
## [[Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response|Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response]]
## Assistant Secretary for Legislation
## [[Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs|Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs]]
## Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources
## Assistant Secretary for [[Administration on Aging|Aging]]
# Director of the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]]
# Director, Region 4 ([[Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]])

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website}}
* [http://thefederalregister.com/b.p/department/DEPARTMENT_OF_HEALTH_AND_HUMAN_SERVICES/ Department Of Health And Human Services Meeting Notices and Rule Changes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213203932/http://www.thefederalregister.com/b.p/department/DEPARTMENT_OF_HEALTH_AND_HUMAN_SERVICES/ |date=December 13, 2007 }} from The Federal Register [https://web.archive.org/web/20071014070656/http://www.thefederalregister.com/rss/department/DEPARTMENT_OF_HEALTH_AND_HUMAN_SERVICES/ RSS Feed]

{{s-start}}{{s-prec|usa}}
{{s-bef
| before = [[Marty Walsh]]
| as = [[United States Secretary of Labor|Secretary of Labor]]
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = [[United States order of precedence|Order of precedence of the United States]]<br>''{{small|as Secretary of Health and Human Services}}''
}}
{{s-aft
| after = [[Marcia Fudge]]<br>{{nowrap|''{{small|as [[United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development|Secretary of Housing and Urban Development]]}}''}}
}}Marcia Fudge
{{s-prec|us-pres}}
{{s-bef
| before = [[United States Secretary of Labor|Secretary of Labor]]<br>{{small|[[Marty Walsh]]}}
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = 12th in line
}}
{{s-aft
| after = [[United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development|Secretary of Housing and Urban Development]]<br>{{small|[[Marcia Fudge]]}}
}}
{{s-end}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Secretary of Health and Human Services}}
[[Category:Lists of members of the Cabinet of the United States|Health and Human Services]]
[[Category:United States Department of Health and Human Services|Secretary of Health and Human Services]]
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[[Category:United States secretaries of health and human services| ]]
[[Category:1980 establishments in the United States]]