Surgeon General of the United States

Surgeon General of the
United States
Seal of the United States Public Health Service
Flag of the United States surgeon general
since January 20, 2025
U.S. Public Health Service
Commissioned Corps
StyleSurgeon General
Vice Admiral
AbbreviationSG
VADM
Reports toUnited States Assistant Secretary for Health
SeatHubert H. Humphrey Building, United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Washington, D.C.
AppointerPresident of the United States
with United States Senate advice and consent
Term length4 years
Constituting instrument42 U.S.C. § 205 and
42 U.S.C. § 207
FormationMarch 29, 1871
First holderJohn M. Woodworth (as supervising surgeon)
DeputyDeputy Surgeon General
Websitewww.SurgeonGeneral.gov

The surgeon general of the United States is the operational head of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government of the United States. The surgeon general's office and staff are known as the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG), which is housed within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health.[1]

The U.S. surgeon general is nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. The surgeon general must be appointed from individuals who are members of the regular corps of the U.S. Public Health Service and have specialized training or significant experience in public health programs.[2] However, there is no time requirement for membership in the Public Health Service before holding the office of the Surgeon General, and nominees traditionally were appointed as members of the Public Health Service and as surgeon general at the same time. The surgeon general serves a four-year term of office and, depending on whether the current assistant secretary for health is a commissioned corps officer, is either the senior or next-most senior uniformed officer of the commissioned corps, holding the rank of vice admiral.[3][4]

Responsibilities

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The surgeon general reports to the assistant secretary for health (ASH). The ASH may be a four-star admiral in the commissioned corps, and serves as the principal advisor to the secretary of health and human services on public health and scientific issues. The surgeon general is the overall head of the commissioned corps, a 6,500-member cadre of uniformed health professionals who are on call 24 hours a day and can be dispatched by the secretary of HHS or by the assistant secretary for health in the event of a public health emergency.[citation needed]

The surgeon general is also the ultimate award authority for several public health awards and decorations, the highest of which that can be directly awarded is the Surgeon General's Medallion (the highest award bestowed by board action is the Public Health Service Distinguished Service Medal). The surgeon general also has many informal duties, such as educating the American public about health issues and advocating healthy lifestyle choices.[citation needed]

The office also periodically issues health warnings. Perhaps the best known example of this is the surgeon general's warning label that has been present on all packages of American tobacco cigarettes since 1966.[5] A similar health warning has appeared on alcoholic beverages labels since 1988.[6]

History

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The landmark 1964 Surgeon General's report on Smoking and Health.

In 1798, Congress established the Marine Hospital Fund, a network of hospitals that cared for sick and disabled seamen. The Marine Hospital Fund was reorganized along military lines in 1870 and became the Marine Hospital Service—the predecessor to today's United States Public Health Service. The service became a separate bureau of the Treasury Department with its own staff, administration, headquarters in Washington, D.C., and the position of supervising surgeon, later surgeon general.[citation needed]

After 141 years under the Treasury Department, the Service came under the Federal Security Agency in 1939, then the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) in 1953, and finally the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).[citation needed]

Prior to 1970, the surgeon general was traditionally selected from career uniformed officers.[7] Today, the surgeon general is usually selected from the civilian community, who aligns more closely with the president's political party.[7] The office is not a particularly powerful one, and has little direct statutory impact on policy-making, but surgeons general are often vocal advocates of precedent-setting, far-sighted, unconventional, or even unpopular health policies.

  • On January 11, 1964, Luther Terry published a landmark report saying that smoking may be hazardous to health,[8] sparking nationwide anti-smoking efforts. Terry and his committee defined cigarette smoking of nicotine as not an addiction. The committee itself consisted largely of physicians who themselves smoked. This report went uncorrected for 24 years.[9]
  • In 1986, C. Everett Koop's report on AIDS called for some form of AIDS education in the early grades of elementary school, and gave full support for using condoms for disease prevention.[10] He also resisted pressure from the Reagan administration to report that abortion was psychologically harmful to women, stating he believed it was a moral issue rather than one concerning the public health.
  • In 1994, Joycelyn Elders spoke at a United Nations conference on AIDS. She was asked whether it would be appropriate to promote masturbation as a means of preventing young people from engaging in riskier forms of sexual activity. She replied, "I think that it is part of human sexuality, and perhaps it should be taught."[11] Elders also spoke in favor of studying drug legalization. In a reference to the national abortion issue, she said, "We really need to get over this love affair with the fetus and start worrying about children."[12] She was fired by President Bill Clinton in December 1994.

The U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force also have officers overseeing medical matters in their respective services who hold the title Surgeon General, of their respective services, while the surgeon general of the United States is surgeon general of the entire nation.[citation needed]

The insignia of the surgeon general, and the USPHS, use the caduceus as opposed to the Rod of Asclepius.[citation needed]

Service rank

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The surgeon general is a commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, one of the eight uniformed services of the United States, and by law holds the rank of vice admiral.[3] Officers of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps are classified as non-combatants, but can be subjected to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and the Geneva Conventions when designated by the commander-in-chief as a military force or if they are detailed or assigned to work with the armed forces. Officers of the commissioned corps, including the surgeon general, wear uniforms that are modeled after uniforms of the United States Navy and the United States Coast Guard, except that the commissioning devices, buttons, and insignia are unique. Officers in the U.S. Public Health Service wear unique devices that are similar to U.S. Navy staff corps officers (e.g., Navy Medical Service Corps, Supply Corps, etc.).

The only surgeon general to actually hold the rank of a four-star admiral was David Satcher (born 1941, served 1998–2002). This was because he served simultaneously in the positions of surgeon general (three-star) and assistant secretary for health (which is a four-star office).[13] John Maynard Woodworth (1837–1879, served 1871–1879), was the first holder of the office as "supervising surgeon."

  • Insignia
  • US Public Health Service Collar Device
    US Public Health Service Collar Device
  • US Public Health Service Cap Device
    US Public Health Service Cap Device
  • The stars, shoulder boards, and sleeve stripes of the surgeon general
    The stars, shoulder boards, and sleeve stripes of the surgeon general

List of surgeons general of the United States

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  Denotes acting capacity.
No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death) 		Term of office Appointed by
(term) 		Ref.
Took office Left office Time in office
1 John M. Woodworth
(1837–1879) 		March 29, 1871 March 14, 1879 7 years, 350 days Ulysses S. Grant
(1869–1877) 		[14]
2 Commodore
John B. Hamilton
(1847–1898) 		April 3, 1879 June 1, 1891 12 years, 59 days Rutherford B. Hayes
(1877–1881) 		[15][16]
3 Commodore
Walter Wyman
(1848–1911) 		June 1, 1891 November 21, 1911 20 years, 173 days Benjamin Harrison
(1889–1893) 		[16][17]
4 Commodore
Rupert Blue
(1868–1948) 		January 13, 1912 March 3, 1920 8 years, 50 days William Howard Taft
(1909–1913) 		[18]
5 Rear Admiral
Hugh S. Cumming
(1869–1948) 		March 3, 1920 January 31, 1936 15 years, 334 days Woodrow Wilson
(1913–1921)
6 Rear Admiral
Thomas Parran Jr.
(1892–1968) 		April 6, 1936 April 6, 1948 12 years, 0 days Franklin D. Roosevelt
(1933–1945)
7 Rear Admiral
Leonard A. Scheele
(1907–1993) 		April 6, 1948 August 8, 1956 8 years, 124 days Harry S. Truman
(1945–1953)
8 Rear Admiral
Leroy E. Burney
(1906–1998) 		August 8, 1956 January 29, 1961 4 years, 174 days Dwight D. Eisenhower
(1953–1961)
9 Luther Terry
(1911–1985) 		March 2, 1961 October 1, 1965 4 years, 213 days John F. Kennedy
(1961–1963)
10 William H. Stewart
(1921–2008) 		October 1, 1965 August 1, 1969 3 years, 304 days Lyndon B. Johnson
(1963–1969)
– Rear Admiral
Richard A. Prindle
(c. 1926–2001)
Acting 		August 1, 1969 December 18, 1969 139 days Richard Nixon
(1969–1974) 		[19][20]
11 Jesse L. Steinfeld
(1927–2014) 		December 18, 1969 January 30, 1973 3 years, 43 days [21][22]
– Rear Admiral
S. Paul Ehrlich Jr.
(1932–2005)
Acting 		January 31, 1973 July 13, 1977 4 years, 163 days [23]
12 Vice Admiral
Julius B. Richmond
(1916–2008) 		July 13, 1977 January 20, 1981 3 years, 191 days Jimmy Carter
(1977–1981) 		[24]
– Rear Admiral
John C. Greene
(1936–2016)
Acting 		January 21, 1981 May 14, 1981 113 days Ronald Reagan
(1981–1989)
– Edward Brandt Jr.
(1933–2007)
Acting 		May 14, 1981 January 21, 1982 252 days
13 Vice Admiral
C. Everett Koop
(1916–2013) 		January 21, 1982 October 1, 1989 7 years, 253 days [25][26]
– Admiral
James O. Mason
(1930–2019)
Acting 		October 1, 1989 March 9, 1990 159 days George H. W. Bush
(1989–1993)
14 Vice Admiral
Antonia Novello
(born 1944) 		March 9, 1990 June 30, 1993 3 years, 113 days [27]
– Rear Admiral
Robert A. Whitney
(born 1935)
Acting 		July 1, 1993 September 8, 1993 69 days Bill Clinton
(1993–2001)
15 Vice Admiral
Joycelyn Elders
(born 1933) 		September 8, 1993 December 31, 1994 1 year, 114 days [28][29]
– Rear Admiral
Audrey F. Manley
(born 1934)
Acting 		January 1, 1995 July 1, 1997 2 years, 180 days
– Rear Admiral
J. Jarrett Clinton
(1938–2023)
Acting 		July 2, 1997 February 12, 1998 226 days
16 Admiral[a]
David Satcher
(born 1941) 		February 13, 1998 February 12, 2002 3 years, 364 days [13][30][31]
– Rear Admiral
Kenneth P. Moritsugu
(born 1945)
Acting 		February 13, 2002 August 4, 2002 172 days George W. Bush
(2001–2009) 		[32]
17 Vice Admiral
Richard Carmona
(born 1949) 		August 5, 2002 July 31, 2006 3 years, 360 days [33][34]
– Rear Admiral
Kenneth P. Moritsugu
(born 1945)
Acting 		August 1, 2006 September 30, 2007 1 year, 60 days [32]
– Rear Admiral
Steven K. Galson
(born 1956)
Acting 		October 1, 2007 October 1, 2009 2 years, 0 days [35]
– Rear Admiral
Donald L. Weaver
Acting 		October 1, 2009 November 3, 2009 33 days Barack Obama
(2009–2017) 		[36]
18 Vice Admiral
Regina Benjamin
(born 1956) 		November 3, 2009 July 16, 2013 3 years, 255 days [37][36][38][39]
– Rear Admiral
Boris Lushniak
Acting 		July 17, 2013 December 18, 2014 1 year, 154 days [40]
19 Vice Admiral
Vivek Murthy
(born 1977) 		April 22, 2015 April 21, 2017 1 year, 364 days [41][42]
– Rear Admiral
Sylvia Trent-Adams
(born 1965)
Acting 		April 21, 2017 September 5, 2017 137 days Donald Trump
(2017–2021) 		[43]
20 Vice Admiral
Jerome Adams
(born 1974) 		September 5, 2017 January 20, 2021 3 years, 137 days [44][45]
– Rear Admiral
Susan Orsega
Acting 		January 20, 2021 March 24, 2021 62 days Joe Biden
(2021–2025) 		[46]
21 Vice Admiral
Vivek Murthy
(born 1977) 		March 25, 2021 January 20, 2025 3 years, 301 days [47][48]
– Rear Admiral
Denise Hinton
Acting 		January 20, 2025 Incumbent 133 days Donald Trump
(2025–present)

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Reverted to the rank of vice admiral in 2001, for the remainder of his term as surgeon general, when he no longer held the office of Assistant Secretary for Health.

References

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  1. ^ "OASH Organization Chart". HHS.gov. October 24, 2008. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
  2. ^ 42 U.S.C. § 205 - Appointment and tenure of office of Surgeon General; reversion in rank.
  3. ^ a b 42 U.S.C. § 207 - Grades, ranks, and titles of commissioned corps.
  4. ^ "Public Health, Commissioned Corps Uniforms and Ranks". Archived from the original on May 13, 2008.
  5. ^ "Public Health Information | R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company". R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  6. ^ "Legislation". depts.washington.edu. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  7. ^ a b Carmona, Richard (November 9, 2014). "Take politics out of selecting surgeon general: Column". USA Today. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  8. ^ Julie M. Fenster Archived 2008-08-28 at the Wayback Machine "Hazardous to Your Health" American Heritage, Oct. 2006.
  9. ^ Joel Spitzer. The Surgeon General says... WhyQuit.com. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  10. ^ Winn, Mari (October 9, 1988). "The Legacy of Dr. Koop". The New York Times.
  11. ^ Leon Dash, "Joycelyn Elders: From Sharecropper's Daughter to Surgeon General of the United States of America", Washington Monthly, January–February 1997
  12. ^ Dreifus, Claudia (March 9, 1994). "Joycelyn Elders". The New York Times.
  13. ^ a b "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.
  14. ^ "OBITUARY. Surgeon-General John M. Woodworth". The Philadelphia Inquirer. March 15, 1879. p. 8. John M. Woodworth, the Supervising Surgeon-General Marine Hospital Service, who has been ill with erysipelas and pneumonia for several days past, died at four o'clock this morning.
  15. ^ "An Appointment". The Philadelphia Inquirer. March 20, 1879. p. 6. Dr. Hamilton, in charge of the marine hospital at Boston, will be appointed supervising surgeon-general of the marine hospital service.
  16. ^ a b "TELEGRAPHIC SUMMARY. ETC". The Baltimore Sun. May 30, 1891. p. 1. Surgeon-General John B. Hamilton, of the Marine Hospital, has resigned to accept a professorship in Rush Medical College, Chicago, and will be succeeded as surgeon-general by Dr. Walter Wyman, of the marine hospital service.
  17. ^ "DR. WALTER WYMAN DEAD". The Baltimore Sun. November 21, 1911. p. 1. Walter Wyman, Surgeon-General of the United States Public Health and Marine Hospital Service, died at Providence Hospital at 12.20 o'clock this morning. Dr. Wyman had been ill about a month, and his case was a most baffling one.
  18. ^ "DR. RUPERT BLUE TAKES OATH". The Baltimore Sun. January 14, 1912. p. 11. Rupert Blue today was inaugurated Surgeon-General of the Public Health and Marine Hospital Service, succeeding the late Dr. Walter Wyman. He took the oath of office in the preeence of Secretary of the Treasury MacVeagh, Assistant Secretary Bailey and all the chiefs of divisions of the Treasury Department.
  19. ^ "House Panel Bids U.S. Study Marijuana's Use and Effects". The New York Times. Associated Press. September 7, 1969. p. 62. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  20. ^ Zielinski, Graeme (September 15, 2001). "Public Health Researcher Richard Prindle Dies". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  21. ^ "Washington: For the Record – December 18, 1969". The New York Times. December 19, 1969. p. 7. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  22. ^ "Jesse Leonard Steinfeld (1969–1973)". SurgeonGeneral.gov. January 4, 2007. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  23. ^ U.S. Government Accountability Office (August 27, 1974). Need for More Effective Management of Community Mental Health Centers Program: National Institute of Mental Health; Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (PDF) (Report). Archived from the original on October 6, 2022.
  24. ^ "HHS Secretaries". National Institutes of Health. Archived from the original on September 24, 2008. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  25. ^ Markel, Howard (November 15, 2013). "One man's rise from 'Dr. Unqualified' to surgeon-in-chief". PBS.
  26. ^ "Biographical Overview". NIH.
  27. ^ "Swearing-in of U.S. Surgeon General Antonia C. Novello". NIH. March 9, 1990.
  28. ^ Cimons, Marlene (September 8, 1993). "Senate Confirms Elders as New Surgeon General". Los Angeles Times.
  29. ^ Richter, Paul; Cimons, Marlene (December 10, 1994). "Clinton Fires Surgeon General Over New Flap". Los Angeles Times.
  30. ^ "Satcher Sworn In As Surgeon General". CNN. February 12, 1998.
  31. ^ Barry, Colleen L.; Frank, Richard G. (April 1, 2002). "Economic Grand Rounds: Economics and the Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health". Psychiatric Services. 53 (4). doi:10.1176/appi.ps.53.4.409.
  32. ^ a b "Kenneth P. Moritsugu, MD, MPH, FACPM, Rear Admiral, USPHS". Physician Assistant History Society.
  33. ^ "Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.S." The White House.
  34. ^ "U.S. Surgeon General Says He Is Resigning". The Washington Post. July 31, 2006.
  35. ^ "Steven Galson Appointed Acting Surgeon General". BioPharm International. October 9, 2007.
  36. ^ a b Phillips, Kate (October 29, 2009). "Senate Confirms Surgeon General". The New York Times.
  37. ^ "Obama picks Regina Benjamin as surgeon general". Reuters. July 13, 2009.
  38. ^ Stobbe, Mike (December 3, 2009). "Surgeon general: More minority doctors needed". WTOP. Retrieved December 5, 2009.[dead link]
  39. ^ Coleman, Korva (June 13, 2013). "U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin To Step Down". NPR.
  40. ^ Anderson, Roger (July 19, 2013). "Lushniak Named Acting Surgeon General". Northwestern University.
  41. ^ Callahan, Guv (April 30, 2015). "New surgeon general sworn in at Conmy Hall". U.S. Army.
  42. ^ "Vivek Murthy dismissed as U.S. Surgeon". Yale Medicine Magazine. Winter 2017.
  43. ^ Collier, Andrea King (May 4, 2017). "5 things to know about acting Surgeon General, Sylvia Trent-Adams". NBC News. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  44. ^ "Dr. Jerome Adams sworn in as U.S. Surgeon General". WTHR. September 5, 2017.
  45. ^ Cancryn, Adam; Ollstein, Alice Miranda (January 20, 2021). "Surgeon general to step down as Biden requested".
  46. ^ Diamond, Dan (January 25, 2021). "Biden to tap nurse as acting surgeon general". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  47. ^ "Raising the Bar - April 2021". South Asian Bar Association of Washington, D.C. April 5, 2021.
  48. ^ "Parting Prescription from US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy". American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians. February 21, 2025.
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