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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.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 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 | January 20, 2025 |
| Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | February 13, 2025 | Present |
This page last reviewed on February 20, 2025