U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Date:
- 1980 - present
- Areas Of Involvement:
- public health
- social welfare program
News •
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), executive division of the U.S. federal government tasked with implementing programs and policies aimed at improving public health and well-being. Originally named the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, the department was reconfigured in October 1979 after Congress passed Public Law 96–88, the Department of Education Organization Act. The act created two cabinet-level departments: the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services. Operation of both departments began in May 1980.
HHS consists of several agencies including the Administration for Children and Families, the Administration for Community Living, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Food and Drug Administration, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Indian Health Service, the National Institutes of Health, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
List of health and human services secretaries
| name | administration(s) | term | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oveta Culp Hobby | Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower | April 11, 1953–July 31, 1955 | |
| Marion B. Folsom | Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower | August 1, 1955–July 31, 1958 | |
| Arthur S. Flemming | Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower | August 1, 1958–January 1, 1961 | |
| Abraham A. Ribicoff | Pres. John F. Kennedy | January 20, 1961–July 13, 1962 | |
| Anthony J. Celebrezze | Pres. John F. Kennedy; Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson | July 31, 1962–August 17, 1965 | |
| John W. Gardner | Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson | August 18, 1965–February 29, 1968 | |
| Wilbur J. Cohen | Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson | May 9, 1968–January 19, 1969 | |
| Robert H. Finch | Pres. Richard Nixon | January 22, 1969–June 24, 1970 | |
| Elliot L. Richardson | Pres. Richard Nixon | June 24, 1970–January 29, 1973 | |
| Caspar W. Weinberger | Pres. Richard Nixon; Pres. Gerald Ford | February 12, 1973–August 10, 1975 | |
| Forrest David Mathews | Pres. Gerald Ford | August 8, 1975–January 20, 1977 | |
| Joseph A. Califano, Jr. | Pres. Jimmy Carter | January 26, 1977–July 19, 1979 | |
| Patricia Roberts Harris* | Pres. Jimmy Carter | July 27, 1979–January 19, 1981 | |
| Richard S. Schweiker | Pres. Ronald Reagan | January 22, 1981–February 3, 1983 | |
| Margaret M. Heckler | Pres. Ronald Reagan | March 9, 1983–December 12, 1985 | |
| Otis R. Bowen | Pres. Ronald Reagan | December 13, 1985–January 20, 1989 | |
| Louis Sullivan | Pres. George H.W. Bush | March 1, 1989–January 20, 1993 | |
| Donna Shalala | Pres. Bill Clinton | January 22, 1993–January 19, 2001 | |
| Tommy G. Thompson | Pres. George W. Bush | February 2, 2001–January 25, 2005 | |
| Mike Leavitt | Pres. George W. Bush | January 26, 2005–January 20, 2009 | |
| Kathleen Sebelius | Pres. Barack Obama | April 28, 2009–June 2, 2014 | |
| Sylvia Burwell | Pres. Barack Obama | June 9, 2014–January 20, 2017 | |
| Tom Price | Pres. Donald Trump | February 10, 2017–September 29, 2017 | |
| Alex Azar | Pres. Donald Trump | January 29, 2018–January 20, 2021 | |
| Xavier Becerra | Pres. Joe Biden | March 19, 2021–January 20, 2025 | |
| Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. | Pres. Donald Trump | February 13, 2025– | |
| *Department of Health, Education, and Welfare reorganized into the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education. | |||