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 incumbent secretary of health and human services, having held the position since February 13, 2025.^[2]

United States Secretary of Health and Human Services
Seal of the department
Flag of the secretary
Incumbent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. since February 13, 2025
United States Department of Health and Human Services
Style	Mr. Secretary (informal) The Honorable (formal)
Member of	The United States Cabinet
Reports to	President of the United States
Seat	Hubert H. Humphrey Building, Washington, D.C.
Appointer	President of the United States with Senate advice and consent
Term length	At the President's Pleasure
Constituting instrument	Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1953 67 Stat. 631 42 U.S.C. § 3501
Formation	April 11, 1953; 72 years ago (1953-04-11)
First holder	Oveta Culp Hobby
Succession	Twelfth[1]
Deputy	United States Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services
Salary	Executive Schedule, Level I
Website	www.hhs.gov

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.^[3] Patricia Roberts Harris headed the department before and after it was renamed.^[4]

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,^[5] before confirmation is considered by the full United States Senate. The secretary of health and human services is a level I position in the Executive Schedule,^[6] thus earning a salary of US$250,600, as of January 2025.^[7]

Duties

The flag of the secretary of health, education, and welfare, the predecessor to the current office.

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.^[8]

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).^[9]

List of secretaries

Parties

  Democratic (9)   Republican (15)   Independent (2)

Status   Denotes acting HHS secretary

Health, education, and welfare

No.	Portrait	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
3		Arthur Flemming	Ohio	August 1, 1958	January 19, 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
							Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969)
6		John W. Gardner	California	August 18, 1965	March 1, 1968
7		Wilbur J. Cohen	Michigan	May 16, 1968	January 20, 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
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
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[10]

Health and human services

No.	Portrait	Name	State of residence	Took office	Left office	President(s)
13		Patricia Roberts Harris	District of Columbia	May 4, 1980[10]	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
16		Otis Bowen	Indiana	December 13, 1985	March 1, 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
–		Charles E. Johnson	Utah	January 20, 2009	April 28, 2009		Barack Obama (2009–2017)
21		Kathleen Sebelius	Kansas	April 28, 2009	June 9, 2014
22		Sylvia Mathews Burwell	West Virginia	June 9, 2014	January 20, 2017
–		Norris Cochran	Florida	January 20, 2017	February 10, 2017		Donald Trump (2017–2021)
23		Tom Price	Georgia	February 10, 2017	September 29, 2017
–		Don J. Wright	Virginia	September 29, 2017	October 10, 2017
–		Eric Hargan	Illinois	October 10, 2017	January 29, 2018
24		Alex Azar	Indiana	January 29, 2018	January 20, 2021
–		Norris Cochran	Florida	January 20, 2021	March 19, 2021		Joe Biden (2021–2025)
25		Xavier Becerra	California	March 19, 2021	January 20, 2025
–		Dorothy Fink	Pennsylvania	January 20, 2025	February 13, 2025		Donald Trump (2025–present)
26		Robert F. Kennedy Jr.	California	February 13, 2025	Incumbent

Line of succession

The line of succession for the secretary of health and human services is as follows:^[11]

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 (following in the order they took the oath of office)
   1. Assistant Secretary for Health
   2. Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response
   3. Assistant Secretary for Legislation
   4. Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs
   5. Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources
   6. Assistant Secretary for Aging
10. Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
11. Director, Region 4 (Atlanta, Georgia)