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. 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 United States 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 United States Senate Committee on Finance, which has jurisdiction over Medicare and Medicaid, before confirmation is considered by the full United States Senate.

Secretary of Health and Human Services is a level I position in the Executive Schedule, thus earning a salary of US$221,400, as of January 2021.

Xavier Becerra has served as the 25th United States secretary of health and human services since March 19, 2021, the first person of Hispanic descent to hold the post.

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 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).

List of secretaries
(9) (15) (1)
 * Parties

Status

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
 * colspan=8 |

Health, education, and welfare
!No. !Portrait !Name !State of residence !Took office !Left office !colspan=2 |President(s) !style="background: ;" |1 !style="background: ;" |2 !style="background: ;" |3 !style="background: ;" |4 !rowspan=2 style="background: ;" |5 !style="background: ;" |6 !style="background: ;" |7 !style="background: ;" |8 !style="background: ;" |9 !rowspan=2 style="background: ;" |10 !style="background: ;" |11 !style="background: ;" |12 !style="background: ;" |13
 * Hobby-Oveta-Culp.jpg
 * Oveta Culp Hobby
 * Texas
 * April 11, 1953
 * July 31, 1955
 * rowspan="3" style="background: ;" |
 * rowspan="3" |Dwight D. Eisenhower
 * Folsom.jpg
 * Marion B. Folsom
 * New York
 * August 2, 1955
 * July 31, 1958
 * ArthurSFlemming.jpg
 * Arthur S. Flemming
 * Ohio
 * August 1, 1958
 * January 19, 1961
 * Ribicoff.jpg
 * Abraham A. Ribicoff
 * Connecticut
 * January 21, 1961
 * July 13, 1962
 * rowspan="2" style="background: ;" |
 * rowspan="2" |John F. Kennedy
 * rowspan=2 |Celebrez.jpg
 * rowspan=2; nowrap |Anthony J. Celebrezze
 * rowspan=2 |Ohio
 * rowspan=2 |July 31, 1962
 * rowspan=2 |August 17, 1965
 * rowspan=3 style="background: ;" |
 * rowspan=3 |Lyndon B. Johnson
 * rowspan=3 |Lyndon B. Johnson
 * John W. Gardner, U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.jpg
 * John W. Gardner
 * California
 * August 18, 1965
 * March 1, 1968
 * Wilburportrait.jpg
 * Wilbur J. Cohen
 * Michigan
 * May 16, 1968
 * January 20, 1969
 * Robert Finch, 1967.jpg
 * Robert H. Finch
 * California
 * January 21, 1969
 * June 23, 1970
 * rowspan="3" style="background: ;" |
 * rowspan="3" |Richard Nixon
 * ElliotLeeRichardson.jpg
 * Elliot L. Richardson
 * Massachusetts
 * June 24, 1970
 * January 29, 1973
 * rowspan=2 |Caspar Weinberger official photo.jpg
 * rowspan=2 |Caspar Weinberger
 * rowspan=2 |California
 * rowspan=2 |February 12, 1973
 * rowspan=2 |August 8, 1975
 * rowspan=2 style="background: ;" |
 * rowspan=2 |Gerald Ford
 * rowspan=2 |Gerald Ford
 * F. David Mathews.jpg
 * F. David Mathews
 * Alabama
 * August 8, 1975
 * January 20, 1977
 * Swearing-in of Joseph Califano, Secretary of HEW - NARA - 173478 (cropped).tif
 * Joseph A. Califano Jr.
 * District of Columbia
 * January 25, 1977
 * August 3, 1979
 * rowspan=2 style="background: ;" |
 * rowspan=2 |Jimmy Carter
 * Patricia R. Harris official portrait.jpg
 * Patricia Roberts Harris
 * District of Columbia
 * August 3, 1979
 * May 4, 1980
 * colspan=8 |
 * colspan=8 |

Health and human services
!No. !Portrait !Name !State of residence !Took office !Left office !colspan=2 |President(s) !style="background: ;" |13 ! style="background: ;" |14 !style="background: ;" |15 ! style="background: ;" |16 !style="background: ;" |17 !style="background: ;" |18 !style="background: ;" |19 !style="background: ;" |20 !style="background:#E6E6AA;" |– !style="background: ;" |21 !style="background: ;" |22 !style="background:#E6E6AA;" |– !style="background: ;" |23 !style="background:#E6E6AA;" |– !style="background:#E6E6AA;" |– !style="background: ;" |24 !style="background:#E6E6AA;" |– !style="background: ;" |25
 * Patricia R. Harris official portrait.jpg
 * Patricia Roberts Harris
 * District of Columbia
 * May 4, 1980
 * January 20, 1981
 * style="background: ;" |
 * Jimmy Carter
 * Secretary Richard Schweiker.jpg
 * Richard S. Schweiker
 * Pennsylvania
 * January 22, 1981
 * February 3, 1983
 * rowspan=4 style="background: ;" |
 * rowspan="3" |Ronald Reagan
 * Mmheckler.JPG
 * Margaret M. Heckler
 * Massachusetts
 * March 10, 1983
 * December 13, 1985
 * Otis R. Bowen.jpg
 * Otis R. Bowen
 * Indiana
 * December 13, 1985
 * March 1, 1989
 * SullivanLouis.jpg
 * Louis W. Sullivan
 * Georgia
 * March 1, 1989
 * January 20, 1993
 * George H. W. Bush
 * Shalala portrait.jpg
 * Donna Shalala
 * Wisconsin
 * January 22, 1993
 * January 20, 2001
 * style="background: ;" |
 * Bill Clinton
 * Tommy Thompson 1.jpg
 * Tommy G. Thompson
 * Wisconsin
 * February 2, 2001
 * January 26, 2005
 * rowspan=2 style="background: ;" |
 * rowspan=2 |George W. Bush
 * Mike Leavitt.jpg
 * Michael O. Leavitt
 * Utah
 * January 26, 2005
 * January 20, 2009
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |JohnsonCharlesE.jpg
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Charles E. Johnson
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Utah
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |January 20, 2009
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |April 28, 2009
 * rowspan=3 style="background: ;" |
 * rowspan=3 |Barack Obama
 * Kathleen Sebelius official portrait (cropped).jpg
 * Kathleen Sebelius
 * Kansas
 * April 28, 2009
 * June 9, 2014
 * Sylvia Mathews Burwell official portrait (cropped).jpg
 * Sylvia Mathews Burwell
 * West Virginia
 * June 9, 2014
 * January 20, 2017
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Norris Cochran (cropped).jpg
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Norris Cochran
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Florida
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |January 20, 2017
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |February 10, 2017
 * rowspan=5 style="background: ;" |
 * rowspan=5 |Donald Trump
 * Tom Price official photo (cropped).jpg
 * Tom Price
 * Georgia
 * February 10, 2017
 * September 29, 2017
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Don J. Wright official portrait (cropped).jpg
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Don J. Wright
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Virginia
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |September 29, 2017
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |October 10, 2017
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Eric D. Hargan official photo (cropped).jpg
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Eric Hargan
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Illinois
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |October 10, 2017
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |January 29, 2018
 * Alex Azar official portrait (cropped).jpg
 * Alex Azar
 * Indiana
 * January 29, 2018
 * January 20, 2021
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Norris Cochran (cropped).jpg
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Norris Cochran
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Florida
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |January 20, 2021
 * style="background:#e6e6aa;" |March 19, 2021
 * rowspan=3 style="background: ;" |
 * rowspan=3 |Joe Biden
 * HHS Xavier Becerra (cropped).jpg
 * Xavier Becerra
 * California
 * March 19, 2021
 * Incumbent
 * }

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 (following in the order they took the oath of office)
 * 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 (Atlanta, Georgia)