**Exhibit 31.1**

**Certificationof Chief Executive OfficerRequired by Rule 13a-14(a) (17 CFR 240.13a-14(a))**

I, Christopher B. Begley, certify that:

1. I have reviewed thisQuarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Hospira, Inc.;

2. Based on my knowledge,this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit tostate a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of thecircumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading withrespect to the period covered by this report;

3. Based on my knowledge,the financial statements, and other financial information included in thisreport, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition,results of operations and cash flows of Hospira as of, and for, the periods presentedin this report;

4. Hospira’s othercertifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintainingdisclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined inExchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for Hospiraand have:

(a)  Designed such disclosure controls andprocedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designedunder our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to Hospira,including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others withinthose entities, particularly during the period in which this report is beingprepared;

(b) Designed such internal control over financialreporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to bedesigned under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding thereliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statementsfor external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accountingprinciples;

(c) Evaluated the effectiveness of Hospira’sdisclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusionsabout the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of theend of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

(d) Disclosed in this report any change inHospira’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred duringHospira’s most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonablylikely to materially affect, Hospira’s internal control over financialreporting; and

5. Hospira’s othercertifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation ofinternal control over financial reporting, to Hospira’s auditors and the auditand public policy committee of Hospira’s board of directors:

(a) All significant deficiencies and materialweaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financialreporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect Hospira’s ability torecord, process, summarize and report financial information; and

(b) Any fraud, whether or not material, thatinvolves management or other employees who have a significant role in Hospira’sinternal control over financial reporting.
| /s/  CHRISTOPHER  B. BEGLEY            |   |   |   |
|--------------------------------------------------|--------|--------|--------|
| Christopher B. Begley,   Chief Executive Officer |   |   |
|                                             |   |   |
| Date: May 9, 2006                           |   |   |

 

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