In the United States, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs is the head of the Food and Drug Administration. The commissioner reports to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and is a presidential appointment with the advice and consent of the Senate.

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 over the counter status to the controversial Plan B emergency contraception.

The commissioner has frequently been a physician, but this is not a requirement for the post.

[edit] List of Commissioners

No.	Name	Portrait	Took Office	Left Office	President served under	Notable for
1	Harvey W. Wiley		1/1/1907	3/15/1912
2	Carl L. Alsberg M.D.		12/16/1912	7/15/1921
3	Charles A. Browne		7/1/1924	6/30/1927
4	Walter G. Campbell		7/16/1921 - 6/30/1924 &	7/1/1927 - 4/30/1944
5	Paul B. Dunbar, Ph.D.		5/6/1944	5/31/1951
6	Charles W. Crawford		6/1/1951	7/31/1954
7	George P. Larrick		8/12/1954	12/27/1965
8	James L. Goddard, M.D.		1/17/1966	7/1/1968
9	Herbert L. Ley, Jr., M.D.		7/1/1968	12/12/1969
10	Charles C. Edwards, M.D.		12/13/1969	3/15/1973
11	Alexander M. Schmidt, M.D.		7/20/1973	11/30/1976
12	Donald Kennedy, Ph.D.		4/4/1977	6/30/1979
12	Jere E. Goyan, Ph.D.		10/21/1979	1/20/1981
13	Arthur H. Hayes, M.D.		4/13/1981	9/11/1983	Ronald Reagan
14	Frank E. Young, MD, Ph.D.		7/15/1984	12/17/1989	Ronald Reagan
15	David A. Kessler, M.D.		11/8/1990	2/28/1997	George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton
16	Jane E. Henney, M.D.		1/17/99	1/19/2001	Bill Clinton
17	Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D		11/14/2002	3/26/2004	George W. Bush
18	Lester M. Crawford, D.V.M., Ph.D.		7/18/2005	9/23/2005	George W. Bush
19	Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D.		12/13/2006	1/20/2009	George W. Bush
20	Margaret Hamburg		5/22/2009	present	Barack Obama

[edit] See also

• Food and Drug Administration
• Regulation of therapeutic goods

[edit] References

• http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/CommissionersPage/PastCommissioners/default.htm

v • d • e FDA Commissioners Harvey W. Wiley · Carl L. Alsberg · Charles A. Browne · Walter G. Campbell · Paul P. Dunbar · Charles W. Crawford · George P. Larrick · James L. Goddard · Herbert L. Ley · Charles C. Edwards · Alexander M. Schmidt · Donald Kennedy · Jere E. Goyan · Arthur Hull Hayes · Frank Edward Young · David Aaron Kessler · Jane E. Henney · Mark McClellan · Lester Crawford · Andrew von Eschenbach · Margaret A. Hamburg