The Administrator of Veterans Affairs was the head of the Veterans Administration, a United States Government agency responsible for military veterans benefits. The administrator was appointed by the President. In 1989, the Veterans Administration was replaced by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (a member of the cabinet) as its head. The last VA administrator, Derwinski, went on to become the first Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Before the VA was established on July 21, 1930, its functions were carried out by the U.S. Veterans’ Bureau, the Bureau of Pensions of the Interior Department, and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. The director of the Veterans' Bureau corresponds somewhat with the later position of Administrator.
| Name | Start | End | President(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Forbes | August 9, 1921 | February 28, 1923 | Warren G. Harding | |
| Frank Hines | March 2, 1923 | July 21, 1930 | Warren G. Harding | |
| Calvin Coolidge | ||||
| Herbert Hoover | ||||
| Name | Start | End | President(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Hines | July 21, 1930 | August 15, 1945 | Herbert Hoover | |
| Franklin D. Roosevelt | ||||
| Harry S. Truman | ||||
| Omar Bradley | August 15, 1945 | November 30, 1947 | Harry S. Truman | |
| Carl Gray | January 1, 1948 | June 30, 1953 | Harry S. Truman | |
| Harvey Higley | July 22, 1953 | November 13, 1957 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | |
| Sumner Whittier | December 18, 1957 | January 20, 1961 | Dwight D. Eisenhower | |
| John Gleason | January 30, 1961 | January 1, 1965 | John F. Kennedy | |
| Lyndon B. Johnson | ||||
| William Driver | January 1, 1965 | May 31, 1969 | Lyndon B. Johnson | |
| Richard Nixon | ||||
| Donald Johnson | June 23, 1969 | October 12, 1974 | Richard Nixon | |
| Gerald Ford | ||||
| Richard Roudebush | October 12, 1974 | January 20, 1977 | Gerald Ford | |
| Max Cleland | January 20, 1977 | January 20, 1981 | Jimmy Carter | |
| Bob Nimmo | July 15, 1981 | January 5, 1983 | Ronald Reagan | |
| Harry Walters | January 5, 1983 | March 21, 1986 | Ronald Reagan | |
| Thomas Turnage | March 21, 1986 | January 20, 1989 | Ronald Reagan | |
| Ed Derwinski | January 21, 1989 | March 15, 1989 | George H. W. Bush | |
The United States secretary of labor is a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and as the head of the United States Department of Labor, controls the department, and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all other issues involving any form of business-person controversies.
The United States secretary of veterans affairs is the head of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the department concerned with veterans' benefits, health care, and national veterans' memorials and cemeteries. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet and second to last at sixteenth in the line of succession to the presidency. Until the appointment of David Shulkin in 2017, all appointees and acting appointees to the post were United States military veterans, but that is not a requirement to fill the position.
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers and outpatient clinics located throughout the country. Non-healthcare benefits include disability compensation, vocational rehabilitation, education assistance, home loans, and life insurance. The VA also provides burial and memorial benefits to eligible veterans and family members at 135 national cemeteries.
Hershel Wayne Gober is a former government official and Vietnam War veteran. He served as acting United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) on two occasions during the administration of Bill Clinton: first from July 1, 1997, until January 2, 1998, between the resignation of Secretary Jesse Brown and the appointment of Togo D. West Jr. as acting secretary, and the second time from July 25, 2000, until January 20, 2001, after the resignation of Secretary West; this time Gober served in the post until the end of the Clinton presidency.
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs Police is the uniformed law enforcement service of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, responsible for the protection of the VA Medical Centers (VAMC) and other facilities such as Outpatient Clinics (OPC) and Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) operated by United States Department of Veterans Affairs and its subsidiary components of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), as well as the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) and the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) respectively.
The Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs is a senior position within the United States Department of Veterans Affairs that directs the National Cemetery Administration, which maintains 150 national cemeteries and provides burial services for veterans of the United States military and eligible family members.
Executive Schedule is the system of salaries given to the highest-ranked appointed officials in the executive branch of the U.S. government. The president of the United States appoints individuals to these positions, most with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. They include members of the president's Cabinet, several top-ranking officials of each executive department, the directors of some of the more prominent departmental and independent agencies, and several members of the Executive Office of the President.
The Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health is a sub-cabinet position in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Formerly known as the Chief Medical Director of Veterans Health, the Undersecretary is the highest official directly responsible to the Secretary for the Veterans Health Administration, which is the largest agency within the department. Although the position is no longer required to be held by a licensed physician, senior medical professionals such as hospital administrators are typically the preferred selectee for nomination, based on both demonstrated ability in the medical profession or health care administration, and with substantial experience in Veterans healthcare or similar programs.
The Under Secretary for Benefits (USB), in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, directs the Veterans Benefits Administration through regional offices in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. The Under Secretary is responsible for the administration of benefits provided by the Department to veterans and dependents, including compensation, pension, education, home loan guaranty, vocational rehabilitation, and life insurance.
Robert Leon Wilkie Jr. is an American lawyer and government official who served as the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs from 2018 to 2021, during the Trump administration. He was previously Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness during the Trump administration, from November 2017 to July 2018. A Naval intelligence officer in the Reserve, he was Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs in the administration of President George W. Bush.
Donald Louis Ivers is an American lawyer who served as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
Harry N. Walters (1936–2019) was a United States businessman who served as Assistant Secretary of the Army from 1981 to 1983 and Administrator for the U.S. Veterans Administration from 1983 to 1986.
The Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014, also known as the Veterans Choice Act, is a United States public law that is intended to address the ongoing Veterans Health Administration scandal of 2014. The law expanded the number of options veterans have for receiving care and granted the United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs more power to fire senior executives. The Veterans Health Administration scandal of 2014 began with the discovery that there was on-going systematic lying by the Veterans Health Administration about the wait times veterans experienced waiting to be seen by doctors. By June 5, 2014, Veterans Affairs internal investigations had identified a total of 35 veterans who had died while waiting for care in the Phoenix VHA system. Another audit determined that "more than 57,000 veterans waited at least 90 days to see a doctor, while another 63,000 over the last decade never received an initial appointment."
The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) is a state agency that provides services to current and former members of the United States military. The department provides care and housing through five veterans homes located in Fergus Falls, Hastings, Luverne, Minneapolis and Silver Bay. The department also assists veterans in obtaining healthcare, education, special veterans benefits and burials. The agency works with the United States Federal Veterans Administration Hospitals and Clinics including the Minneapolis VA Health Care System as well as coordination with the Minnesota National Guard and the American Legion.
Donald Michael Remy is an American attorney, former military officer, and athletic administrator who served in the Biden administration as the 9th United States Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs between July 2021 and April 2023.
The seal of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is used by various cabinet members to authenticate official documents, awards, publications, certifications, reports, and regulations, including the secretary. The current seal, adopted in 1989, originates from the previously administered, Veterans Administration and Veterans' Bureau government agencies. When the Veterans Administration became the Department of Affairs, the former seal was changed accordingly to the presently enlisted seal. The flag of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) embodies the seal of the department on a blue field.
