# United States Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services

The Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services (formerly the under Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1953–1979, and the under Secretary of Health and Human Services, 1979–1990) is the Chief Operating Officer of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The deputy secretary oversees all operations within the Department, including overseeing Medicare, Medicaid, public health, medical research, food and drug safety, welfare, child and family services, disease prevention, Indian health, and mental health services. The office of Deputy Secretary is currently vacant. The most recent Deputy Secretary was Andrea Palm, who was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 11, 2021.
The deputy secretary is also the regulatory policy officer for the department, overseeing the development and approval of all HHS regulations and significant guidance. In addition, the deputy secretary leads a number of initiatives at the department, including implementing the President's management agenda, combating bio-terrorism, and public health emergency preparedness. She also represents the secretary of health and human services on the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The deputy secretary is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The deputy secretary is paid at level II of the Executive Schedule. The deputy secretary is assisted by a principal associate deputy secretary of health and human services, two associate deputy secretaries, and three staff assistants. The position of deputy secretary was originally held by an under secretary until the position was retitled in August 1990. The position of under secretary had been in existence since the creation of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1953.

## List
### Assistant secretary of health, education, and welfare

| # | Image | Name | Took office | Left office | President served under | References |
| 1 | | Jane Morrow Spaulding | April 1953 | January 1954 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | |

### Under secretaries of health, education, and welfare

| # | Name | Took office | Left office | President served under |
| 1 | Nelson Rockefeller | June 1953 | December 1954 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| | Vacant | December 1954 | September 1955 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| 2 | Herold Christian Hunt | September 1955 | February 1957 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| | Vacant | February 1957 | April 1957 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| 3 | John Alanson Perkins | April 1957 | March 1958 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| | Vacant | March 7, 1958 | March 18, 1958 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| 4 | Bertha Adkins | March 1958 | January 1961 | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| 5 | Ivan Arnold Nestingen | January 1961 | May 1965 | John F. Kennedy |
| 5 | Ivan Arnold Nestingen | January 1961 | May 1965 | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| 6 | Wilbur J. Cohen | June 1965 | May 1968 | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| | Vacant | May 1968 | July 1968 | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| 7 | James H. McCrocklin | July 1968 | January 1969 | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| | Vacant | January 1969 | March 1969 | Richard Nixon |
| 8 | John Veneman | March 1969 | January 1973 | Richard Nixon |
| 9 | Frank Carlucci | January 1973 | January 1975 | Richard Nixon |
| 9 | Frank Carlucci | January 1973 | January 1975 | Gerald Ford |
| 10 | Marjorie Lynch | November 1975 | January 1977 |
| 10 | Marjorie Lynch | November 1975 | January 1977 | Gerald Ford |
| 11 | Hale Champion | January 1977 | June 1979 |
| 11 | Hale Champion | January 1977 | June 1979 | Jimmy Carter |

### Under secretaries of health and human services

| # | Name | Took office | Left office | President served under |
| 12 | John A. Svahn | March 1983 | September 1983 | Ronald Reagan |
| 13 | Charles D. Baker | 1984 | 1985 | Ronald Reagan |
| 14 | Don M. Newman | 1985 | 1989 | Ronald Reagan |
| 15 | Constance Horner | 1989 | August 1990 | George H. W. Bush |

### Deputy secretaries of health and human services

| # | Name | Took office | Left office | President served under |
| 15 | Constance Horner | August 1990 | 1991 | George H. W. Bush |
| 16 | Kevin Moley | 1991 | 1993 | George H. W. Bush |
| 17 | Walter Broadnax | 1993 | 1996 | Bill Clinton |
| 18 | Kevin Thurm | 1996 | 2001 | Bill Clinton |
| 19 | Claude Allen | May 26, 2001 | January 22, 2005 | George W. Bush |
| 20 | Alex Azar | January 22, 2005 | February 4, 2007 | George W. Bush |
| – | Eric Hargan (acting) | February 4, 2007 | August 5, 2007 | George W. Bush |
| 21 | Tevi Troy | August 5, 2007 | January 20, 2009 | George W. Bush |
| 22 | Bill Corr | May 6, 2009 | April 2015 | Barack Obama |
| – | Mary Wakefield (acting) | April 2015 | January 20, 2017 | Barack Obama |
| – | Colleen Barros (acting) | January 20, 2017 | October 6, 2017 | Donald Trump |
| 23 | Eric Hargan | October 6, 2017 | January 20, 2021 | Donald Trump |
| 24 | Andrea Palm | May 12, 2021 | January 20, 2025 | Joe Biden |