United States Postmaster General

Template:Mdy Template:Short description Template:Infobox official post The United States postmaster general (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency.

The PMG is selected and appointed by the Board of Governors of the Postal Service, which is appointed by the president. The postmaster general then also sits on the board. The PMG does not serve at the president's pleasure and can only be dismissed by the Board of Governors. The appointment of the postmaster general does not require Senate confirmation. The governors and the postmaster general elect the deputy postmaster general.

The most recent officeholder is Louis DeJoy, who was appointed on June 16, 2020. DeJoy resigned on March 24, 2025.

History

The office of U.S. postmaster general predates the country's founding. Benjamin Franklin was appointed by the Continental Congress as the first postmaster general in 1775; he had previously served as deputy postmaster for the Thirteen Colonies since 1753. The formal office of the United States postmaster general was established by act of government on September 22, 1789.

From 1829 to 1971, the postmaster general was the head of the Post Office Department (or simply "Post Office" until the 1820sTemplate:Rp) and was a member of the president's Cabinet. During that era, the postmaster general was appointed by the president of the United States, with the advice and consent of the United States Senate.Template:Rp

After passage of the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act in 1883 and prior to the passage of the Hatch Act of 1939, the postmaster general was in charge of the governing party's patronage and was a powerful position which held much influence within the party, as exemplified by James Farley's tenure from 1933 to 1940 under Franklin D. Roosevelt.

After the spoils system was reformed, the position remained a Cabinet post, and it was often given to a new president's campaign manager or other key political supporters, including Arthur Summerfield, W. Marvin Watson, and Larry O'Brien, each of whom played important roles organizing the campaigns of presidents Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson, respectively, and was considered something of a sinecure. Poet and literary scholar Charles Olson, who served as a Democratic National Committee official during the 1944 U.S. presidential election, declined the position in January 1945.

In 1971, the Post Office Department was re-organized into the United States Postal Service, an independent agency of the executive branch, and the postmaster general was no longer a member of the Cabinet nor in line of presidential succession.

The postmaster general is now appointed by the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service, not appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.Template:Rp

List of postmasters general

The following persons held the position of postmaster general:

Under the Continental Congress (1775–1789)

No.	Name		Start	End
1	File:Benjamin Franklin by Joseph-Siffred Duplessis.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
2	File:Richard Bache (1737-1811) by John Hoppner.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
3	File:Ebenezer Hazard (1744-1817) portrait circa 1800.png	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts

US Post Office Department (1789–1971)

As non-Cabinet department (1789–1829)

Parties

No.	Name			State	Start	End	President(s)
4	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:SOsgood.jpg	Template:Sortname	Massachusetts	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1789–1797)
5	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Timothy-Pickering.jpg	Template:Sortname	Pennsylvania	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
6	rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Joseph Habersham.png	Template:Sortname	Georgia	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
	style="background: Template:Party color;" |						Template:Sortname (1797–1801)
	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |						Template:Sortname (1801–1809)
7	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Gideon Granger.jpg	Template:Sortname	Connecticut	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |						Template:Sortname (1809–1817)
8	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Return J. Meigs, Jr 002.png	Template:Sortname	Ohio	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |						Template:Sortname (1817–1825)
9	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:JohnMcLean.jpg	Template:Sortname	Ohio	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
	style="background: Template:Party color;" |						Template:Sortname (1825–1829)

As cabinet department (1829–1971)

Parties

No.		Portrait	Name	State	Start	End	President(s)
10	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:William T. Barry by C.B. King.jpg	Template:Sortname	Kentucky	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1829–1837)
11	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Amos Kendall cph.3a02184 (cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Kentucky	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |						Template:Sortname (1837–1841)
12	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:JohnMiltonNiles (3x4a).jpg	Template:Sortname	Connecticut	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
13	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color" |	File:Francis Granger (cropped 3x4).jpg	Template:Sortname	New York	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1841)
	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |						Template:Sortname (1841-1845)
14	style="background: Template:Party color" |	File:Wickliffe CA.jpg	Template:Sortname	Kentucky	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
15	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Cave Johnson.jpg	Template:Sortname	Tennessee	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1845-1849)
16	style="background: Template:Party color" |	File:Jacob Collamer - Postmaster General of USA.jpg	Template:Sortname	Vermont	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1849–1850)
17	style="background: Template:Party color" |	File:Nathan Kelsey Hall, half-length portrait, three-quarters to the left.jpg	Template:Sortname	New York	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1850–1853)
18	style="background: Template:Party color" |	File:SDHubbard.jpg	Template:Sortname	Connecticut	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
19	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:JamesCampbell1.JPG	Template:Sortname	Pennsylvania	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1853–1857)
20	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Hon. Aaron V. Brown, Tenn - NARA - 528326 (3x4a).jpg	Template:Sortname	Tennessee	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1857–1861)
21	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Judge Joseph Holt - NARA - 526106 (3x4a).jpg	Template:Sortname	Kentucky	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
22	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Postmaster-HKing.jpg	Template:Sortname	Maine	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
23	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Abraham Lincoln (1897) (14591178008).jpg	Template:Sortname	District of Columbia	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1861–1865)
24	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:William Dennison, Jr., War Governor of Ohio.jpg	Template:Sortname	Ohio	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |						Template:Sortname (1865–1869)
25	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:AWRandall.jpg	Template:Sortname	Wisconsin	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
26	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:John Angel James Creswell, sitting.jpg	Template:Sortname	Maryland	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	rowspan=4 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1869–1877)
27	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:James William Marshall, Brady-Handy bw photo portrait, ca1865-1880.jpg	Template:Sortname	Virginia	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
28	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Marshall Jewell - Brady-Handy (cropped).png	Template:Sortname	Connecticut	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
29	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:James Noble Tyner, Brady-Handy bw photo portrait, ca1865-1880.jpg	Template:Sortname	Indiana	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
30	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:David M. Key - Brady-Handy.jpg	Template:Sortname	Tennessee	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1887–1881)
31	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Horace-maynard-1880s.jpg	Template:Sortname	Tennessee	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
32	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Thomas L James.JPG	Template:Sortname	New York	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1881)
	rowspan=4 style="background: Template:Party color;" |						Template:Sortname (1881–1885)
33	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Timothy O. Howe - Brady-Handy.jpg	Template:Sortname	Wisconsin	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
34	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:WQ Gresham (cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Indiana	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
35	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Frank Hatton (US politician).png	Template:Sortname	Iowa	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
36	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:William F. Vilas (10506825074) (1).jpg	Template:Sortname	Wisconsin	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1885–1889)
37	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Donald McDonald Dickinson (1846-1917) (10506724465) (cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Michigan	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
38	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:John Wanamaker.jpg	Template:Sortname	Pennsylvania	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1889–1893)
39	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Wilson S. Bissell cph.3b27412.jpg	Template:Sortname	New York	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1893–1897)
40	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:William Lyne Wilson.jpg	Template:Sortname	West Virginia	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
41	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:James Albert Gary.jpg	Template:Sortname	Maryland	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1897–1901)
42	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Charles Emory Smith, 1898.jpg	Template:Sortname	Pennsylvania	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
	rowspan=5 style="background: Template:Party color;" |						Template:Sortname (1901–1909)
43	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Portrait of Henry Clay Payne.jpg	Template:Sortname	Wisconsin	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
44	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:RJWynne.jpg	Template:Sortname	Pennsylvania	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
45	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Shadow and light; an autobiography with reminiscences of the last and present century (1902) (14580486337) (cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	New York	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
46	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:GvLMeyer.jpg	Template:Sortname	Massachusetts	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
47	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:FHHitchcock.jpg	Template:Sortname	Massachusetts	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1909–1913)
48	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Albert S. Burleson.jpg	Template:Sortname	Texas	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1913–1921)
49	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Portrait of Will H. Hays.jpg	Template:Sortname	Indiana	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1921–1923)
50	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:HWork-SecofInter2.jpg	Template:Sortname	Colorado	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
51	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Postmaster Harry Stewart New on February 27, 1923 - LCCN2016847240 (cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Indiana	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
	style="background: Template:Party color;" |						Template:Sortname (1923–1929)
52	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:WFBrown.jpg	Template:Sortname	Ohio	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1929–1933)
53	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:JamesFarleyProfile.jpg	Template:Sortname	New York	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1933–1945)
54	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Frank C. Walker.jpg	Template:Sortname	Pennsylvania	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
	rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Party color;" |						Template:Sortname (1945–1953)
55	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Hannegan 2013-925 (1).jpg	Template:Sortname	Missouri	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
56	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:JesseMDonaldson.jpg	Template:Sortname	Missouri	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
57	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Arthur Summerfield (cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Michigan	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1953–1961)
58	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:J. Edward Day 1961.jpg	Template:Sortname	California	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1961–1963)
59	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:John A. Gronouski.png	Template:Sortname	Wisconsin	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
	rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Party color;" |						Template:Sortname (1963–1969)
60	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Larry O'Brien 1961.jpg	Template:Sortname	Massachusetts	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
61	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Portrait officiel de W. Marvin Watson.jpg	Template:Sortname	Texas	Template:Dts	Template:Dts
62	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	File:Winton M. Blount.jpg	Template:Sortname	Alabama	Template:Dts	Template:Dts	style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1969–1974)

US Postal Service (1971–present)

Denotes acting capacity.

No.	Portrait	Name	Start	End	Ref.	President(s)
62	File:Winton M. Blount.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts		rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1969–1974)
63		Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts		Template:Sortname (1969–1974)
						rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1974–1977)
64		Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts		Template:Sortname (1974–1977)
						rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1977–1981)
65	File:William Bolger 1984.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts		Template:Sortname (1977–1981)
						rowspan=5 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1981–1989)
66		Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts		Template:Sortname (1981–1989)
67		Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts		Template:Sortname (1981–1989)
68	File:BobTisch.jpeg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts		Template:Sortname (1981–1989)
69		Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts		Template:Sortname (1981–1989)
						rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1989–1993)
70		Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts		Template:Sortname (1989–1993)
						rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (1993–2001)
71		Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts		Template:Sortname (1993–2001)
						rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (2001–2009)
72	File:Jack Potter 72nd United States Postmaster General.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts		Template:Sortname (2001–2009)
						rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (2009–2017)
73	File:Patrick R. Donahoe 2013 (cropped).jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts		Template:Sortname (2009–2017)
74	File:Megan Brennan USPMG at 225th Anniversary of U.S. Coast Guard stamp event.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts		Template:Sortname (2009–2017)
						rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (2017–2021)
75	File:Official portrait of Louis DeJoy, United States Postmaster General.jpg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Template:Dts		Template:Sortname (2017–2021)
						style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (2021–2025)
						rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Party color;" |	Template:Sortname (2025–present)
–	File:No image.svg	Template:Sortname Acting	Template:Dts	Template:Dts		Template:Sortname (2025–present)
76	File:No image.svg	Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Designate		Template:Sortname (2025–present)

See also

• Postmaster General
• John Reagan, the only postmaster general of the Confederate States