Commissioner of Food and Drugs

Last updated
United States Commissioner of Food and Drugs
Marty Makary, official portrait (2025) (cropped).png
Incumbent
Marty Makary
since April 1, 2025
Department of Health and Human Services
Food and Drug Administration
Reports to Secretary of Health and Human Services
Term length No fixed term

The United States commissioner of food and drugs is the head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The commissioner is appointed by the president of the United States and must be confirmed by the Senate. The commissioner reports to the secretary of health and human services.

Contents

Due to frequent controversies involving the FDA, appointments are not always prompt and the agency is often headed by an acting commissioner. For example, Andrew von Eschenbach's appointment was held up by senators who objected to the FDA's refusal to allow emergency contraception to be sold over the counter.

The commissioner has frequently been a physician, but this is not a requirement for the post. Commissioners rarely come from a food-related background. [1]

List of commissioners

The following persons served as Commissioner of Food and Drugs Administration: [2] [3]

Unnumbered, colored rows indicate acting commissioners. [3]

No.Name
(birth–death)
PortraitTerm of officeRefs.Appointed by
(term)
Start of termEnd of term
1 Harvey Washington Wiley FDA History - Harvey Wiley Portrait (4901385302).jpg January 1, 1907March 15, 1912 [4] Theodore Roosevelt
2 Carl L. Alsberg Carl L. Alsberg.gif December 16, 1912July 15, 1921 [5] William Howard Taft
3 Walter G. Campbell Walter G. Campbell.gif July 16, 1921June 30, 1924 [6] Warren G. Harding
4 Charles Albert Browne Jr. Charles Albert Browne Jr.gif July 1, 1924June 30, 1927 [7] Calvin Coolidge
5 [a] Walter G. Campbell Walter G. Campbell.gif July 1, 1927April 30, 1944 [6] Calvin Coolidge
6 Paul B. Dunbar Paul B. Dunbar.gif May 6, 1944May 31, 1951 [8] Franklin D. Roosevelt
7 Charles W. Crawford Charles W. Crawford.gif June 1, 1951July 31, 1954 Harry S. Truman
8 George P. Larrick George P. Larrick.gif August 12, 1954December 27, 1965 Dwight D. Eisenhower
9 James L. Goddard James L. Goddard.gif January 17, 1966July 1, 1968 Lyndon B. Johnson
10 Herbert L. Ley Jr. Herbert L. Ley Jr.gif July 1, 1968December 12, 1969 Lyndon B. Johnson
11 Charles C. Edwards Charles C. Edwards.jpg December 13, 1969March 15, 1973 Richard Nixon
12 Alexander M. Schmidt Alexander M. Schmidt.gif July 20, 1973November 30, 1976 Richard Nixon
13 Donald Kennedy Donald Kennedy photo.png April 4, 1977June 30, 1979 Jimmy Carter
14 Jere E. Goyan Jere E. Goyan.gif October 21, 1979January 20, 1981 Jimmy Carter
15 Arthur H. Hayes Jr. Arthur H. Hayes Jr.gif April 13, 1981September 11, 1983 Ronald Reagan
16 Frank E. Young Frank Edward Young.jpg July 15, 1984December 17, 1989 Ronald Reagan
17 David A. Kessler DavidAaronKesslerApr2009.jpg November 8, 1990February 28, 1997 [9] George H. W. Bush

Bill Clinton

18 Jane E. Henney Jane E. Henney.jpg January 17, 1999January 19, 2001 [10] Bill Clinton
19 Mark McClellan MarkMcClellan.jpg November 14, 2002March 26, 2004 [11] George W. Bush
20 Lester Crawford Lester Crawford.jpg July 18, 2005September 23, 2005 [12] George W. Bush
21 Andrew von Eschenbach AVonEchenbach2.jpg December 13, 2006January 20, 2009 [13] George W. Bush
Frank M. TortiJanuary 20, 2009March 29, 2009 [14]
Joshua M. Sharfstein Dr. Joshua Sharfstein (cropped).jpg March 30, 2009May 21, 2009 [15]
22 Margaret Hamburg Margaret Hamburg official portrait.jpg May 22, 2009April 1, 2015 [16] Barack Obama
Stephen Ostroff Stephen Ostroff (13488260153).jpg April 1, 2015February 22, 2016 [17] [18] Barack Obama
23 Robert Califf Robert Califf.jpg February 22, 2016January 20, 2017 [19] Barack Obama
Stephen Ostroff Stephen Ostroff (13488260153).jpg January 20, 2017May 11, 2017 [17] [18] Donald Trump
24 Scott Gottlieb Scott Gottlieb official portrait.jpg May 11, 2017April 5, 2019 [20] Donald Trump
Norman Sharpless Ned Sharpless official portrait (cropped).jpg April 5, 2019November 1, 2019 [21] Donald Trump
Admiral
Brett Giroir
ADM Brett P. Giroir, USPHS.jpg November 6, 2019December 17, 2019 [22] [23] Donald Trump
25 Stephen Hahn Stephen Hahn MD.jpg December 17, 2019January 20, 2021 [24] Donald Trump
Janet Woodcock Janet Woodcock Biotechnology Heritage Award 2019 009.jpg January 20, 2021February 17, 2022 [25] [26] Joe Biden
26 [b] Robert Califf Robert M. Califf, FDA Commissioner.jpg February 17, 2022January 20, 2025 [19] [27] Joe Biden
Sara Brenner Sara Brenner.jpg January 24, 2025April 1, 2025 [28] [29] Donald Trump
27 Marty Makary Marty Makary, official portrait (2025) (cropped).png April 1, 2025Incumbent [30] [31] Donald Trump

Table notes:

  1. Campbell had previously served as Commissioner
  2. Califf had previously served as Commissioner

See also

References

  1. "How the FDA's food division fails to regulate health and safety hazards". politico.com. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  2. "Commissioners". FDA. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Acting Commissioners". FDA. Archived from the original on May 10, 2022.
  4. "Harvey Washington Wiley". FDA.
  5. "Carl L. Alsberg". FDA.
  6. 1 2 "Walter G. Campbell". FDA.
  7. "Charles A. Browne". FDA. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020.
  8. "Paul B. Dunbar". FDA. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020.
  9. "David A. Kessler". FDA.
  10. "Jane E. Henney". FDA.
  11. "Mark B. McClellan". FDA.[ dead link ]
  12. "Lester M. Crawford". FDA. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020.
  13. "Andrew C. von Eschenbach MD". FDA.
  14. "Frank M. Torti, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.P." FDA. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021.
  15. McCurdy, Debra A. (April 3, 2009). "Sharfstein Named Acting FDA Commissioner". Health Industry Washington Watch.
  16. "Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D." FDA.
  17. 1 2 "Meet Stephen Ostroff, Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine". U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 9 February 2019. Archived from the original on June 12, 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  18. 1 2 "Meet Stephen Ostroff, M.D., Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine". FDA.
  19. 1 2 "Robert M. Califf M.D., MACC". FDA. Archived from the original on February 18, 2022.
  20. "Scott Gottlieb M.D." FDA.
  21. "Norman E. "Ned" Sharpless MD". FDA. Archived from the original on September 12, 2019.
  22. McGinley, Laurie (2019-11-01). "Trump announces plan to nominate Texas cancer doctor to run FDA" . The Washington Post . Retrieved 2019-11-02.
  23. "ADM Brett P. Giroir MD". FDA.
  24. "Stephen Hahn". U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 2021-01-20. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  25. Kunzmann, Kevin (January 20, 2021). "Janet Woodcock, MD, Appointed as Acting FDA Commissioner". HCPLive. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  26. "Janet Woodcock M.D." FDA. Archived from the original on September 12, 2019.
  27. Eglovitch, Joanne S. (November 12, 2024). "Regulatory Focus — Califf 'disappointed' about election, warns of changes at FDA". Friends of Cancer Research .
  28. "Dr. Sara Brenner Appointed FDA Acting Commissioner as Trump Nominee Awaits Senate Confirmation". Food Safety Magazine. January 27, 2025.
  29. "Sara Brenner M.D., M.P.H." FDA. Archived from the original on January 27, 2025.
  30. "Martin A Makary M.D., M.P.H." FDA.
  31. "Martin A. Makary, M.D., M.P.H., Sworn in as FDA Commissioner". FDA. April 1, 2025.