Assistant Secretary for Health | |
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![]() Seal of the United States Public Health Service | |
![]() Flag of the Assistant Secretary for Health | |
U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps | |
Style | Assistant Secretary Admiral [1] |
Abbreviation | ASH ADM [1] |
Reports to | Secretary of Health and Human Services |
Seat | Hubert H. Humphrey Building, United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Washington, D.C. |
Appointer | President of the United States with United States Senate advice and consent |
Constituting instrument | 42 U.S.C. § 202 and 42 U.S.C. § 207 |
Formation | November 2, 1965 |
First holder | Philip R. Lee |
Website | Official website |
The assistant secretary for health (ASH) is a senior U.S. government official within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) who serves as the primary advisor to the secretary of health and human services on matters involving the nation's public health, and provides strategic and policy direction to the Public Health Service agencies and Commissioned Corps.
The position is a statutory Senate-confirmed presidential appointment (42 U.S.C. § 202), who may be a civilian, or a uniformed four-star admiral of the PHS Commissioned Corps and is nominated for appointment by the president. [2] [3] The president may also nominate a civilian appointee to also be appointed a direct commission in the commissioned corps if the nominee so chooses. [3] [4] The assistant secretary's office and its staff make up the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH).
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health and Scientific Affairs was established on January 1, 1967, following Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1966. [5] The new position supplanted the surgeon general as the head of the PHS, with all PHS component heads now reporting to the assistant secretary. [5] [6] [7] [8] This was seen as undermining the chain of command of the PHS Commissioned Corps, beginning a long-term shift where Commissioned Corps officers were more responsible to the agencies they were stationed in than to the corps itself. [8]
The office was renamed the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health following the Department of Education Organization Act in 1972. [5]
In 1995, supervision of the agencies within PHS was shifted to report directly to the secretary of health and human services. This transformed the assistant secretary for health from a supervisory position in the direct chain of command, into an advisory one. [8]
In 2010, the office's name was changed from Office of Public Health and Science to Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. [9]
As of 2018, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health oversees 12 core public health offices, 10 regional health offices, and 10 presidential and secretarial advisory committees. [10]
No. | Assistant secretary | Term | Pay schedule or Service branch | |||
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Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Term length | ||
1 | Philip R. Lee | November 2, 1965 | 1969 | 3 years | ![]() Executive Schedule IV | |
2 | Roger O. Egeberg | July 14, 1969 | 1971 | 2 years | ![]() Executive Schedule IV | |
3 | Merlin K. DuVal | July 1, 1971 | January 20, 1973 | 1 year, 203 days | ![]() Executive Schedule IV | |
4 | Charles C. Edwards | April 18, 1973 | January 5, 1975 | 1 year, 262 days | ![]() Executive Schedule IV | |
5 | Theodore Cooper | July 1, 1975 | 1977 | 2 years | ![]() Executive Schedule IV | |
6 | Vice Admiral Julius B. Richmond | July 13, 1977 | May 14, 1981 | 3 years, 305 days | ![]() U.S. Public Health Service | |
7 | Edward Brandt Jr. | 1981 | 1984 | 3 years | ![]() Executive Schedule IV | |
8 | Robert E. Windom | 1986 | 1989 | 3 years | ![]() Executive Schedule IV | |
9 | Admiral James O. Mason | 1989 | 1993 | 4 years | ![]() U.S. Public Health Service | |
10 | Philip R. Lee | July 2, 1993 | 1998 | 5 years | ![]() Executive Schedule IV | |
11 | Admiral David Satcher | February 13, 1998 | January 20, 2001 | 2 years, 342 days | ![]() U.S. Public Health Service | |
- | Rear Admiral Arthur J. Lawrence [12] Acting | January 20, 2001 | February 8, 2002 | 1 year, 19 days | ![]() U.S. Public Health Service | |
12 | Eve Slater | February 8, 2002 | February 5, 2003 | 362 days | ![]() Executive Schedule IV | |
- | Rear Admiral Cristina V. Beato Acting | February 5, 2003 | January 4, 2006 | 2 years, 333 days | ![]() U.S. Public Health Service | |
13 | Admiral John O. Agwunobi | January 4, 2006 | September 4, 2007 | 1 year, 243 days | ![]() U.S. Public Health Service | |
- | Don J. Wright Acting | September 4, 2007 | March 28, 2008 | 206 days | ![]() Executive Schedule IV | |
14 | Admiral Joxel García | March 28, 2008 | January 20, 2009 | 298 days | ![]() U.S. Public Health Service | |
- | Rear Admiral Steven K. Galson Acting | January 22, 2009 | June 22, 2009 | 151 days | ![]() U.S. Public Health Service | |
15 | Howard K. Koh | June 22, 2009 | August 1, 2014 | 5 years, 40 days | ![]() Executive Schedule IV | |
- | Karen B. DeSalvo [14] Acting | October 2014 | January 3, 2017 | More than 2 years | ![]() Executive Schedule IV | |
- | Don J. Wright Acting | January 4, 2017 | February 15, 2018 | 1 year, 42 days | ![]() Executive Schedule IV | |
16 | Admiral Brett P. Giroir | February 15, 2018 | January 19, 2021 | 2 years, 339 days | ![]() U.S. Public Health Service | |
- | Rear Admiral Felicia L. Collins Acting | January 21, 2021 | March 26, 2021 | 64 days | ![]() U.S. Public Health Service | |
17 | Admiral Rachel L. Levine [16] | March 26, 2021 | January 20, 2025 | 3 years, 300 days | ![]() U.S. Public Health Service | |
- | Leith J. States [18] Acting | January 20, 2025 | May 26, 2025 | 126 days | ![]() Executive Schedule IV | |
- | Dorothy Fink [20] Acting | May 26, 2025 | Incumbent | 30 days | ![]() Executive Schedule IV |