Commissioner of Food and Drugs

Last updated
United States Commissioner of Food and Drugs
Robert M. Califf, FDA Commissioner.jpg
Incumbent
Robert Califf
since February 17, 2022
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

Unnumbered, colored rows indicate acting commissioners.

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

Bill Clinton

17 Jane E. Henney Jane E. Henney.jpg January 17, 1999January 19, 2001 Bill Clinton
18 Mark McClellan MarkMcClellan.jpg November 14, 2002March 26, 2004 George W. Bush
19 Lester Crawford Lester Crawford.jpg July 18, 2005September 23, 2005 George W. Bush
20 Andrew von Eschenbach AVonEchenbach2.jpg December 13, 2006January 20, 2009 George W. Bush
21 Margaret Hamburg Margaret Hamburg official portrait.jpg May 22, 2009April 1, 2015 Barack Obama
Stephen Ostroff [3] Stephen Ostroff (13488260153).jpg April 1, 2015February 22, 2016 Barack Obama
22 Robert Califf Robert Califf.jpg February 22, 2016January 20, 2017 Barack Obama
Stephen Ostroff [3] Stephen Ostroff (13488260153).jpg January 20, 2017May 11, 2017 Donald Trump
23 Scott Gottlieb Scott Gottlieb official portrait.jpg May 11, 2017April 5, 2019 Donald Trump
Norman Sharpless Ned Sharpless official portrait (cropped).jpg April 5, 2019November 1, 2019 Donald Trump
Admiral
Brett Giroir
ADM Brett P. Giroir, USPHS.jpg November 6, 2019 [4] [5] December 17, 2019 Donald Trump
24 Stephen Hahn Stephen Hahn MD.jpg December 17, 2019January 20, 2021 [6] Donald Trump
Janet Woodcock Janet Woodcock Biotechnology Heritage Award 2019 009.jpg January 20, 2021 [7] February 17, 2022 Joe Biden
25 [8] Robert Califf Robert M. Califf, FDA Commissioner.jpg February 17, 2022 [9] present Joe Biden

See also

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References

  1. "How the FDA's food division fails to regulate health and safety hazards". politico.com. Retrieved 2022-04-26.
  2. Campbell had previously served as Commissioner
  3. 1 2 "Meet Stephen Ostroff, Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine". U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 9 February 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  4. ADM Brett P. Giroir
  5. McGinley, Laurie (2019-11-01). "Trump announces plan to nominate Texas cancer doctor to run FDA". The Washington Post . Retrieved 2019-11-02.
  6. Commissioner, Office of the (2021-01-20). "Stephen Hahn | FDA". U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  7. "Janet Woodcock, MD, Appointed as Acting FDA Commissioner". HCPLive. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  8. Califf had previously served as Commissioner
  9. "Robert M. Califf M.D., MACC". U.S. Food and Drug Administration. February 17, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.