# United States Secretary of Health and Human Services

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. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the current secretary of health and human services, having held the position since February 13, 2025.
The office was formerly known as the secretary of health, education, and welfare. In 1980, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was renamed to Department of Health and Human Services, and its education functions and Rehabilitation Services Administration were transferred to the new United States Department of Education. Patricia Roberts Harris headed the department before and after it was renamed.
Nominations to the office are referred to the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the United States Senate Committee on Finance, which has jurisdiction over Medicare and Medicaid, before confirmation is considered by the full United States Senate. The secretary of health of human services is a level I position in the Executive Schedule, thus earning a salary of US$246,400, as of January 2024.

## Duties

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. 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.
The Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) was reorganized into a Department of Education and a Department of Health and Human Services (US DHHS).
The Department of Health and Human Services oversees 11 agencies including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

## List of secretaries
### Parties

Democratic (9)  Republican (15)  Independent (2)
Status  Denotes acting HHS secretary

### Health, education, and welfare

| No. | Name | State of residence | Took office | Left office | President(s) |
| 1 | Oveta Culp Hobby | Texas | April 11, 1953 | July 31, 1955 | Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961) |
| 2 | Marion B. Folsom | New York | August 2, 1955 | July 31, 1958 | Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961) |
| 3 | Arthur Flemming | Ohio | August 1, 1958 | January 19, 1961 | Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961) |
| 4 | Abraham Ribicoff | Connecticut | January 21, 1961 | July 13, 1962 | John F. Kennedy (1961–1963) |
| 5 | Anthony J. Celebrezze | Ohio | July 31, 1962 | August 17, 1965 | John F. Kennedy (1961–1963) |
| 5 | Anthony J. Celebrezze | Ohio | July 31, 1962 | August 17, 1965 | Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969) |
| 6 | John W. Gardner | California | August 18, 1965 | March 1, 1968 | Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969) |
| 7 | Wilbur J. Cohen | Michigan | May 16, 1968 | January 20, 1969 | Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969) |
| 8 | Robert Finch | California | January 21, 1969 | June 23, 1970 | Richard Nixon (1969–1974) |
| 9 | Elliot Richardson | Massachusetts | June 24, 1970 | January 29, 1973 | Richard Nixon (1969–1974) |
| 10 | Caspar Weinberger | California | February 12, 1973 | August 8, 1975 | Richard Nixon (1969–1974) |
| 10 | Caspar Weinberger | California | February 12, 1973 | August 8, 1975 | Gerald Ford (1974–1977) |
| 11 | F. David Mathews | Alabama | August 8, 1975 | January 20, 1977 | Gerald Ford (1974–1977) |
| 12 | Joseph A. Califano Jr. | District of Columbia | January 25, 1977 | August 3, 1979 | Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) |
| 13 | Patricia Roberts Harris | District of Columbia | August 3, 1979 | May 4, 1980 | Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) |

### Health and human services

| No. | Name | State of residence | Took office | Left office | President(s) |
| 13 | Patricia Roberts Harris | District of Columbia | May 4, 1980 | January 20, 1981 | Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) |
| 14 | Richard Schweiker | Pennsylvania | January 22, 1981 | February 3, 1983 | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) |
| 15 | Margaret Heckler | Massachusetts | March 10, 1983 | December 13, 1985 | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) |
| 16 | Otis Bowen | Indiana | December 13, 1985 | March 1, 1989 | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) |
| 17 | Louis W. Sullivan | Georgia | March 1, 1989 | January 20, 1993 | George H. W. Bush (1989–1993) |
| 18 | Donna Shalala | Wisconsin | January 22, 1993 | January 20, 2001 | Bill Clinton (1993–2001) |
| 19 | Tommy Thompson | Wisconsin | February 2, 2001 | January 26, 2005 | George W. Bush (2001–2009) |
| 20 | Mike Leavitt | Utah | January 26, 2005 | January 20, 2009 | George W. Bush (2001–2009) |
| – | Charles E. Johnson | Utah | January 20, 2009 | April 28, 2009 | Barack Obama (2009–2017) |
| 21 | Kathleen Sebelius | Kansas | April 28, 2009 | June 9, 2014 | Barack Obama (2009–2017) |
| 22 | Sylvia Mathews Burwell | West Virginia | June 9, 2014 | January 20, 2017 | Barack Obama (2009–2017) |
| – | Norris Cochran | Florida | January 20, 2017 | February 10, 2017 | Donald Trump (2017–2021) |
| 23 | Tom Price | Georgia | February 10, 2017 | September 29, 2017 | Donald Trump (2017–2021) |
| – | Don J. Wright | Virginia | September 29, 2017 | October 10, 2017 | Donald Trump (2017–2021) |
| – | Eric Hargan | Illinois | October 10, 2017 | January 29, 2018 | Donald Trump (2017–2021) |
| 24 | Alex Azar | Indiana | January 29, 2018 | January 20, 2021 | Donald Trump (2017–2021) |
| – | Norris Cochran | Florida | January 20, 2021 | March 19, 2021 | Joe Biden (2021–2025) |
| 25 | Xavier Becerra | California | March 19, 2021 | January 20, 2025 | Joe Biden (2021–2025) |
| – | Dorothy Fink | Pennsylvania | January 20, 2025 | February 13, 2025 | Donald Trump (2025–present) |
| 26 | Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | California | February 13, 2025 | Incumbent | Donald Trump (2025–present) |

## Line of succession

The line of succession for the secretary of health and human services is as follows:
* 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 Children and Families
* Other assistant secretaries (following in the order they took the oath of office)
** Assistant Secretary for Health
** Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response
** Assistant Secretary for Legislation
** Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs
** Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources
** Assistant Secretary for Aging
* Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
* Director, Region 4 (Atlanta, Georgia)