Surgeon General of the United States

The Surgeon General of the United States is in charge of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC). They are the main spokesperson about things dealing with public health in the federal government. The Surgeon General's office and staff are known as the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG).

Surgeon General of the
United States
United States Public Health Service (seal).svg
Seal of the United States Public Health Service, 1798
Flag of the United States Surgeon General.svg
Flag of the United States Surgeon General
Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General (profile).jpg
Incumbent
Vivek Murthy

since March 25, 2021
Public Health Service
Public Health Service, Commissioned Corps
Reports toUnited States Assistant Secretary for Health
SeatHubert H. Humphrey Building, United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Washington, D.C.
AppointerThe President
with United States Senate advice and consent
Term length4 years
FormationMarch 29, 1871
First holderJohn M. Woodworth (as Supervising Surgeon)
Websitewww.SurgeonGeneral.gov

Selection and current office-holder

The Surgeon General is chosen by the U.S. President and confirmed by the Senate. The Surgeon General serves for a four-year period of time. The Surgeon General is either the highest ranking or second highest ranking uniformed officer of the PHSCC. This depends on if the current Assistant Secretary for Health is a PHSCC commissioned officer or not. The position has the grade of a three-star vice admiral .[1]

Surgeons General of the United States

Name
(birth–death)
Photo Term of office Appointed by
(term)
Start of term End of term
1 John M. Woodworth
(1837–1879)
  March 29, 1871 March 14, 1879 Ulysses S. Grant
 
(1869–1877)
2 RADM John B. Hamilton
(1847–1898)
  April 3, 1879 June 1, 1891 Rutherford B. Hayes
 
(1877–1881)
3 RADM Walter Wyman
(1848–1911)
  June 1, 1891 November 21, 1911 Benjamin Harrison
 
(1889–1893)
4 RADM Rupert Blue
(1868–1948)
  January 13, 1912 March 3, 1920 William Howard Taft
 
(1907–1913)
5 RADM Hugh S. Cumming
(1869–1948)
  March 3, 1920 January 31, 1936 Woodrow Wilson
 
(1913–1921)
6 RADM Thomas Parran, Jr.
(1892–1968)
  April 6, 1936 April 6, 1948 Franklin D. Roosevelt
 
(1933–1945)
7 RADM Leonard A. Scheele
(1907–1993)
  April 6, 1948 August 8, 1956 Harry S. Truman
 
(1945–1953)
8 RADM Leroy Edgar Burney
(1906–1998)
  August 8, 1956 January 29, 1961 Dwight D. Eisenhower
 
(1953–1961)
9 RADM Luther Terry
(1911–1985)
  March 2, 1961 October 1, 1965 John F. Kennedy
 
(1961–1963)
10 VADM William H. Stewart
(1921–2008)
  October 1, 1965 August 1, 1969 Lyndon B. Johnson
 
(1963–1969)
N/A RADM Richard A. Prindle
(c. 1926–2001)
Acting Surgeon General
August 1, 1969 December 18, 1969[2][3] Richard Nixon
 
(1969–1974)
11 RADM Jesse Leonard Steinfeld
(1927–2014)
  December 18, 1969[4] January 30, 1973[5]
N/A RADM S. Paul Ehrlich, Jr.
(1932–2005)
Acting Surgeon General
January 31, 1973[6] July 13, 1977
12 VADM Julius B. Richmond
(1916–2008)
  July 13, 1977 January 20, 1981[7] Jimmy Carter
 
(1977–1981)
N/A Edward Brandt, Jr.
(1933–2007)
Acting Surgeon General
May 14, 1981 January 21, 1982 Ronald Reagan
 
(1981–1989)
13 VADM C. Everett Koop
(1916–2013)
  January 21, 1982 October 1, 1989
N/A ADM James O. Mason
(1930–2019)
Acting Surgeon General
  October 1, 1989 March 9, 1990 George H. W. Bush
 
(1989–1993)
14 VADM Antonia C. Novello
(1944–)
  March 9, 1990 June 30, 1993
N/A RADM Robert A. Whitney
(1935–)
Acting Surgeon General
  July 1, 1993 September 8, 1993 Bill Clinton
 
(1993–2001)
15 VADM Joycelyn Elders
(1933–)
  September 8, 1993 December 31, 1994
N/A RADM Audrey F. Manley
(1934–)
Acting Surgeon General
  January 1, 1995 July 1, 1997
16 ADM[8] / VADM David Satcher
(1941–)
  February 13, 1998 February 12, 2002
N/A RADM Kenneth P. Moritsugu
(1945–)
Acting Surgeon General
  February 13, 2002 August 4, 2002 George W. Bush
 
(2001–2009)
17 VADM Richard Carmona
(1949–)
  August 5, 2002 July 31, 2006
N/A RADM Kenneth P. Moritsugu
(1945–)
Acting Surgeon General
  August 1, 2006 September 30, 2007
RADM Steven K. Galson
(1956–)
Acting Surgeon General
  October 1, 2007 October 1, 2009
RADM Donald L. Weaver
Acting Surgeon General
  October 1, 2009 November 3, 2009 Barack Obama
 
(2009–2017)
18 VADM Regina Benjamin[9]
(1956–)
  November 3, 2009[10] July 16, 2013
N/A RADM Boris D. Lushniak
Acting Surgeon General
  July 17, 2013 December 18, 2014
19 VADM Vivek Murthy
(1977–)
  December 18, 2014 April 21, 2017
N/A RADM Sylvia Trent-Adams
Acting Surgeon General
  April 21, 2017 September 5, 2017 Donald Trump
 
(2017–2021)
20 VADM Jerome Adams
(1974–)
  September 5, 2017 January 20, 2021
21 VADM Vivek Murthy
(1977–)
  March 25, 2021 Incumbent Joe Biden
 
(since 2021)

Surgeon General Of The United States Media

References

  1. Public Health, Commissioned Corps Uniforms and Ranks Archived 2008-05-13 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. "House Panel Bids U.S. Study Marijuana's Use and Effects". New York Times: 62. September 7, 1969. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1969/09/07/89369343.html?pageNumber=62. Retrieved April 22, 2017. 
  3. Zielinski, Graeme (September 15, 2001). Public Health Researcher Richard Prindle Dies. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2001/09/15/public-health-researcher-richard-prindle-dies/cdb8089c-d960-49c6-af77-23de6552e4cf/?utm_term=.f0e6ffb50702. Retrieved April 22, 2017. 
  4. "Washington: For the Record – December 18, 1969". New York Times: 7. December 19, 1969. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1969/12/19/88872725.html?pageNumber=7. Retrieved April 22, 2017. 
  5. "Jesse Leonard Steinfeld (1969-1973)". SurgeonGeneral.gov. January 4, 2007. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  6. U.S. GAO - Need for More Effective Management of Community Mental Health Centers Program
  7. "HHS Secretaries - National Institutes of Health (NIH)". Nih.gov. Archived from the original on September 24, 2008. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  8. "David Satcher (1998–2002)". U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. January 4, 2007. Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  9. Obama picks Regina Benjamin as surgeon general. Reuters. July 13, 2009. https://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE56C3HI20090713. 
  10. Stobbe, Mike (December 3, 2009). "Surgeon general: More minority doctors needed". WTOP. http://www.wtop.com/?nid=106&sid=1829595. Retrieved December 5, 2009.