Department of Health and Human Services Secretaries

*Name changed to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from Department of Health, Education, and Welfare on May 14, 1980; separate Department of Education formed.

Xavier Becerra, Secretary, HHS

Chronology of HHS Secretaries

Name In Office from To
Oveta Culp Hobby April 11, 1953 July 31, 1955
Marion B. Folsom August 1, 1955 July 31, 1958
Arthur S. Flemming August 1, 1958 January 1, 1961
Abraham A. Ribicoff January 20, 1961 July 13, 1962
Anthony J. Celebrezze July 31, 1962 August 17, 1965
John W. Gardner August 18, 1965 February 29, 1968
Wilbur J. Cohen May 9, 1968 January 19, 1969
Robert H. Finch January 22, 1969 June 24, 1970
Elliot L. Richardson June 24, 1970 January 29, 1973
Caspar W. Weinberger February 12, 1973 August 10, 1975
David Mathews August 8, 1975 January 20, 1977
Joseph A. Califano, Jr. January 26, 1977 July 19, 1979
Patricia Roberts Harris July 27, 1979 January 19, 1981
Richard S. Schweiker January 22, 1981 February 3, 1983
Margaret M. Heckler March 9, 1983 December 12, 1985
Otis R. Bowen December 13, 1985 January 20, 1989
Louis Sullivan March 1, 1989 January1993
Donna Shalala January 22, 1993 January 19, 2001
Tommy G. Thompson February 2, 2001 January 25, 2005
Mike Leavitt January 26, 2005 January 20, 2009
Kathleen Sebelius April 28, 2009 June 2, 2014
Sylvia Burwell June 9, 2014 January 20, 2017
Tom Price February 10, 2017 September 29, 2017
Alex Azar January 29, 2018 January 20, 2021
Xavier Becerra March 19, 2021 Present

This page last reviewed on December 28, 2021