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, concerned with health matters. The Secretary is a member of the president's Cabinet. The office was formerly Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. In 1980, the 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 Department of Education. Patricia Roberts Harris headed the department before and after it was renamed.
Nominations to the office of Secretary of HHS are referred to the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over Medicare and Medicaid, before confirmation is considered by the full United States Senate.
Donald Trump selected then-Congressman Tom Price to be the 23rd secretary of the health and human services. Price was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 10, 2017 and resigned on September 29, 2017. Trump then named Don J. Wright, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health and Director of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, as acting secretary until Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan was sworn in on October 10, 2017.
On November 13, 2017, Trump nominated former pharmaceutical executive Alex Azar to fill the position permanently. Azar's confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee took place on January 9, 2018, and on January 24, 2018, Azar was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 55 to 43. Azar was sworn in on January 29, 2018.
From 2012 to 2017, Azar was president of the U.S. division of Eli Lilly and Company, a major drug company, and a member of the board of directors of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, a large pharmaceutical lobby.

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 :simple:United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare|Department of Health, Education and Welfare was reorganized into a Department of Education and a Department of Health and Human Services.
The Department of Health and Human Services oversees 11 agencies including the Food and Drug Administration, Center for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health, Administration for Children and Families and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

List of secretaries of health and human services

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Secretaries of Health, Education, and Welfare

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Secretaries of Health and Human Services

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Line of succession

The line of succession for the Secretary of Health and Human Services is as follows:
  1. Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services.
  2. General Counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services
  3. Assistant Secretary for Administration
  4. Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
  5. Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
  6. Commissioner of Food and Drugs
  7. Director of the National Institutes of Health
  8. Assistant Secretary for Children and Families
  9. Other Assistant Secretaries
  10. #Assistant Secretary for Health
  11. #Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response
  12. #Assistant Secretary for Legislation
  13. #Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs
  14. #Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources
  15. #Assistant Secretary for Aging
  16. Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  17. Director, Region 4

    Living former secretaries

Department of Health, Education, and Welfare

As of, there are two living former :simple:United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare|secretaries of health, education and welfare, the older being Joseph A. Califano Jr.. The most recent secretary of health, education and welfare to die was Caspar Weinberger, on March 28, 2006. The most recently serving secretary to die was Patricia Roberts Harris on March 23, 1985.
NameTermDate of birth
F. David Mathews1975–1977
Joseph A. Califano Jr.1977–1979

Department of Health and Human Services

As of, there are seven living former secretaries of health and human services, the oldest being Louis W. Sullivan ; The most recent secretary of health and human services to die was Margaret Heckler, on August 6, 2018. The most recently serving secretary to die was Otis R. Bowen on May 4, 2013.
NameTermDate of birth
Louis W. Sullivan1989–1993
Donna Shalala1993–2001
Tommy Thompson2001–2005
Mike Leavitt2005–2009
Kathleen Sebelius2009–2014
Sylvia Mathews Burwell2014–2017
Tom Price2017