Surgeon General of the United States
head of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
The Surgeon General of the United States is in charge of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC). They are the main spokesperson about things dealing with public health in the federal government. The Surgeon General's office and staff are known as the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG).
| Surgeon General of the United States | |
|---|---|
 Seal of the United States Public Health Service, 1798 | |
 Flag of the United States Surgeon General | |
| Public Health Service Public Health Service, Commissioned Corps | |
| Reports to | United States Assistant Secretary for Health |
| Seat | Hubert H. Humphrey Building, United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Washington, D.C. |
| Appointer | The President with United States Senate advice and consent |
| Term length | 4 years |
| Formation | March 29, 1871 |
| First holder | John M. Woodworth (as Supervising Surgeon) |
| Website | www.SurgeonGeneral.gov |
Selection and current office-holder
changeThe Surgeon General is chosen by the U.S. President and confirmed by the Senate. The Surgeon General serves for a four-year period of time. The Surgeon General is either the highest ranking or second highest ranking uniformed officer of the PHSCC. This depends on if the current Assistant Secretary for Health is a PHSCC commissioned officer or not. The position has the grade of a three-star vice admiral .[1]
List of surgeons general of the United States
change| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of office | Appointed by (term) |
Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
| 1 | John M. Woodworth (1837–1879) |
March 29, 1871 | March 14, 1879 | 7 years, 350 days | Ulysses S. Grant (1869–1877) |
||
| 2 | Commodore John B. Hamilton (1847–1898) |
April 3, 1879 | June 1, 1891 | 12 years, 59 days | Rutherford B. Hayes (1877–1881) |
||
| 3 | Commodore Walter Wyman (1848–1911) |
June 1, 1891 | November 21, 1911 | 20 years, 173 days | Benjamin Harrison (1889–1893) |
||
| 4 | Commodore Rupert Blue (1868–1948) |
January 13, 1912 | March 3, 1920 | 8 years, 50 days | William Howard Taft (1909–1913) |
||
| 5 | Rear Admiral Hugh S. Cumming (1869–1948) |
March 3, 1920 | January 31, 1936 | 15 years, 334 days | Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921) |
||
| 6 | Rear Admiral Thomas Parran Jr. (1892–1968) |
April 6, 1936 | April 6, 1948 | 12 years, 0 days | Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945) |
||
| 7 | Rear Admiral Leonard A. Scheele (1907–1993) |
April 6, 1948 | August 8, 1956 | 8 years, 124 days | Harry S. Truman (1945–1953) |
||
| 8 | Rear Admiral Leroy E. Burney (1906–1998) |
August 8, 1956 | January 29, 1961 | 4 years, 174 days | Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961) |
||
| 9 | Luther Terry (1911–1985) |
March 2, 1961 | October 1, 1965 | 4 years, 213 days | John F. Kennedy (1961–1963) |
||
| 10 | William H. Stewart (1921–2008) |
October 1, 1965 | August 1, 1969 | 3 years, 304 days | Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969) |
||
| – | Rear Admiral Richard A. Prindle (c. 1926–2001) Acting |
August 1, 1969 | December 18, 1969 | 139 days | Richard Nixon (1969–1974) |
[2][3] | |
| 11 | Jesse L. Steinfeld (1927–2014) |
December 18, 1969 | January 30, 1973 | 3 years, 43 days | [4][5] | ||
| – | Rear Admiral S. Paul Ehrlich Jr. (1932–2005) Acting |
January 31, 1973 | July 13, 1977 | 4 years, 163 days | [6] | ||
| 12 | Vice Admiral Julius B. Richmond (1916–2008) |
July 13, 1977 | January 20, 1981 | 3 years, 191 days | Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) |
[7] | |
| – | Rear Admiral John C. Greene (1936–2016) Acting |
January 21, 1981 | May 14, 1981 | 113 days | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) |
||
| – | Edward Brandt Jr. (1933–2007) Acting |
May 14, 1981 | January 21, 1982 | 252 days | |||
| 13 | Vice Admiral C. Everett Koop (1916–2013) |
January 21, 1982 | October 1, 1989 | 7 years, 253 days | |||
| – | Admiral James O. Mason (1930–2019) Acting |
October 1, 1989 | March 9, 1990 | 159 days | George H. W. Bush (1989–1993) |
||
| 14 | Vice Admiral Antonia Novello (born 1944) |
March 9, 1990 | June 30, 1993 | 3 years, 113 days | |||
| – | Rear Admiral Robert A. Whitney (born 1935) Acting |
July 1, 1993 | September 8, 1993 | 69 days | Bill Clinton (1993–2001) |
||
| 15 | Vice Admiral Joycelyn Elders (born 1933) |
September 8, 1993 | December 31, 1994 | 1 year, 114 days | |||
| – | Rear Admiral Audrey F. Manley (born 1934) Acting |
January 1, 1995 | July 1, 1997 | 2 years, 180 days | |||
| – | Rear Admiral J. Jarrett Clinton (1938–2023) Acting |
July 2, 1997 | February 12, 1998 | 226 days | |||
| 16 | Admiral[a] David Satcher (born 1941) |
February 13, 1998 | February 12, 2002 | 3 years, 364 days | [8] | ||
| – | Rear Admiral Kenneth P. Moritsugu (born 1945) Acting |
February 13, 2002 | August 4, 2002 | 172 days | George W. Bush (2001–2009) |
||
| 17 | Vice Admiral Richard Carmona (born 1949) |
August 5, 2002 | July 31, 2006 | 3 years, 360 days | |||
| – | Rear Admiral Kenneth P. Moritsugu (born 1945) Acting |
August 1, 2006 | September 30, 2007 | 1 year, 60 days | |||
| – | Rear Admiral Steven K. Galson (born 1956) Acting |
October 1, 2007 | October 1, 2009 | 2 years, 0 days | |||
| – | Rear Admiral Donald L. Weaver Acting |
October 1, 2009 | November 3, 2009 | 33 days | Barack Obama (2009–2017) |
||
| 18 | Vice Admiral Regina Benjamin (born 1956) |
November 3, 2009 | July 16, 2013 | 3 years, 255 days | [9][10] | ||
| – | Rear Admiral Boris Lushniak Acting |
July 17, 2013 | December 18, 2014 | 1 year, 154 days | |||
| 19 | Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy (born 1977) |
December 18, 2014 | April 21, 2017 | 2 years, 124 days | |||
| – | Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams (born 1965) Acting |
April 21, 2017 | September 5, 2017 | 137 days | Donald Trump (2017–2021) |
[11] | |
| 20 | Vice Admiral Jerome Adams (born 1974) |
September 5, 2017 | January 20, 2021 | 3 years, 137 days | |||
| – | Rear Admiral Susan Orsega Acting |
January 20, 2021 | March 24, 2021 | 62 days | Joe Biden (2021–Present) |
[12] | |
| 21 | Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy (born 1977) |
March 25, 2021 | Present | 3 years, 248 days | |||
Notes
change- ↑ Reverted to the rank of vice admiral in 2001, for the remainder of his term as surgeon general, when he no longer held the office of Assistant Secretary for Health.
References
change- ↑ Public Health, Commissioned Corps Uniforms and Ranks Archived 2008-05-13 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "House Panel Bids U.S. Study Marijuana's Use and Effects". The New York Times. Associated Press. September 7, 1969. p. 62. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
- ↑ Zielinski, Graeme (September 15, 2001). "Public Health Researcher Richard Prindle Dies". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
- ↑ "Washington: For the Record – December 18, 1969". The New York Times. December 19, 1969. p. 7. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
- ↑ "Jesse Leonard Steinfeld (1969–1973)". SurgeonGeneral.gov. January 4, 2007. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- ↑ U.S. Government Accountability Office (August 27, 1974). Need for More Effective Management of Community Mental Health Centers Program: National Institute of Mental Health; Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (PDF) (Report). Archived from the original on October 6, 2022.
- ↑ "HHS Secretaries". National Institutes of Health. Archived from the original on September 24, 2008. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
- ↑ Cite error: The named reference
satcherwas used but no text was provided for refs named (see the help page). - ↑ "Obama picks Regina Benjamin as surgeon general". Reuters. July 13, 2009.
- ↑ Stobbe, Mike (December 3, 2009). "Surgeon general: More minority doctors needed". WTOP. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
- ↑ Collier, Andrea King (May 4, 2017). "5 things to know about acting Surgeon General, Sylvia Trent-Adams". NBC News. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
- ↑ Diamond, Dan (January 25, 2021). "Biden to tap nurse as acting surgeon general". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 26, 2021.