United States Postmaster General

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Template:Mdy Template:Short description Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". The United States postmaster general (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS).[1] 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.[2] The appointment of the postmaster general does not require Senate confirmation.[3][4] The governors and the postmaster general elect the deputy postmaster general.

The current postmaster general is David Steiner, who has served in the role since July 14, 2025.

History

File:Seal of the United States Post Office Department (1782–1837).png
The first Post Office Department seal, depicting the deity Mercury, used until 1837.

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.[5] The formal office of the United States postmaster general was established by act of government on September 22, 1789.[6]

From 1829 to 1971, the postmaster general was the head of the Post Office Department (or simply "Post Office" until the 1820s[7]Template: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.[7]Template:Rp

After passage of the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act in 1883 and prior to the passage of the Hatch Act of 1939,[8] 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.[9]

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. The postmaster general is now appointed by the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service, not appointed by the president.[7]Template:Rp[10] As such, the postmaster general is no longer a member of the Cabinet[11] or in line of presidential succession.

List of postmasters general

The following persons held the position of postmaster general:[12][13]

Under the Continental Congress (1775–1789)

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

US Post Office Department (1789–1971)

As non-Cabinet department (1789–1829)

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

As cabinet department (1829–1971)

Parties
  1. REDIRECT Template:Legend inline
  2. REDIRECT Template:Legend inline
  3. REDIRECT Template:Legend inline
No. Portrait Name State Start End President(s)
10 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:William T. Barry by C.B. King.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Kentucky Template:Dts Template:Dts rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1829–1837)
11 rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Amos Kendall cph.3a02184 (cropped).jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Kentucky Template:Dts Template:Dts
rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1837–1841)
12 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:JohnMiltonNiles (3x4a).jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Connecticut Template:Dts Template:Dts
13 rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color" | File:Francis Granger (cropped 3x4).jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". New York Template:Dts Template:Dts style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1841)
rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1841-1845)
14 style="background: Template:Party color" | File:Wickliffe CA.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Kentucky Template:Dts Template:Dts
15 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Cave Johnson.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Tennessee Template:Dts Template:Dts style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1845-1849)
16 style="background: Template:Party color" | File:Jacob Collamer - Postmaster General of USA.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Vermont Template:Dts Template:Dts style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1849–1850)
17 style="background: Template:Party color" | File:Nathan Kelsey Hall, half-length portrait, three-quarters to the left.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". New York Template:Dts Template:Dts rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1850–1853)
18 style="background: Template:Party color" | File:SDHubbard.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Connecticut Template:Dts Template:Dts
19 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:JamesCampbell1.JPG Script error: No such module "Sort". Pennsylvania Template:Dts Template:Dts style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1853–1857)
20 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Hon. Aaron V. Brown, Tenn - NARA - 528326 (3x4a).jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Tennessee Template:Dts Template:Dts rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1857–1861)
21 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Judge Joseph Holt - NARA - 526106 (3x4a).jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Kentucky Template:Dts Template:Dts
22 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Postmaster-HKing.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Maine Template:Dts Template:Dts
23 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Abraham Lincoln (1897) (14591178008).jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". District of Columbia Template:Dts Template:Dts rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1861–1865)
24 rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:William Dennison, Jr., War Governor of Ohio.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Ohio Template:Dts Template:Dts
rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1865–1869)
25 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:AWRandall.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Wisconsin Template:Dts Template:Dts
26 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:John Angel James Creswell, sitting.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Maryland Template:Dts Template:Dts rowspan=4 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1869–1877)
27 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:James William Marshall, Brady-Handy bw photo portrait, ca1865-1880.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Virginia Template:Dts Template:Dts
28 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Marshall Jewell - Brady-Handy (cropped).png Script error: No such module "Sort". Connecticut Template:Dts Template:Dts
29 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:James Noble Tyner, Brady-Handy bw photo portrait, ca1865-1880.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Indiana Template:Dts Template:Dts
30 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:David M. Key - Brady-Handy.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Tennessee Template:Dts Template:Dts rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1887–1881)
31 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Horace Maynard, 1870s.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Tennessee Template:Dts Template:Dts
32 rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Thomas L James.JPG Script error: No such module "Sort". New York Template:Dts Template:Dts style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1881)
rowspan=4 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1881–1885)
33 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Timothy O. Howe - Brady-Handy.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Wisconsin Template:Dts Template:Dts
34 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:WQ Gresham (cropped).jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Indiana Template:Dts Template:Dts
35 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Frank Hatton (US politician).png Script error: No such module "Sort". Iowa Template:Dts Template:Dts
36 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:William F. Vilas (10506825074) (1).jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Wisconsin Template:Dts Template:Dts rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1885–1889)
37 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Donald McDonald Dickinson (1846-1917) (10506724465) (cropped).jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Michigan Template:Dts Template:Dts
38 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:John Wanamaker.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Pennsylvania Template:Dts Template:Dts style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1889–1893)
39 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Wilson S. Bissell cph.3b27412.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". New York Template:Dts Template:Dts rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1893–1897)
40 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:William Lyne Wilson.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". West Virginia Template:Dts Template:Dts
41 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:James Albert Gary.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Maryland Template:Dts Template:Dts rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1897–1901)
42 rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Charles Emory Smith, 1898.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Pennsylvania Template:Dts Template:Dts
rowspan=5 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1901–1909)
43 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Portrait of Henry Clay Payne.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Wisconsin Template:Dts Template:Dts
44 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:RJWynne.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". 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 Script error: No such module "Sort". New York Template:Dts Template:Dts
46 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:GvLMeyer.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Massachusetts Template:Dts Template:Dts
47 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:FHHitchcock.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Massachusetts Template:Dts Template:Dts style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1909–1913)
48 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Albert S. Burleson.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Texas Template:Dts Template:Dts style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1913–1921)
49 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Portrait of Will H. Hays.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Indiana Template:Dts Template:Dts rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1921–1923)
50 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:HWork-SecofInter2.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". 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 Script error: No such module "Sort". Indiana Template:Dts Template:Dts
style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1923–1929)
52 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:WFBrown.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Ohio Template:Dts Template:Dts style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1929–1933)
53 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:JamesFarleyProfile.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". New York Template:Dts Template:Dts rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1933–1945)
54 rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Frank C. Walker.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Pennsylvania Template:Dts Template:Dts
rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1945–1953)
55 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Hannegan 2013-925 (1).jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Missouri Template:Dts Template:Dts
56 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:JesseMDonaldson.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Missouri Template:Dts Template:Dts
57 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Arthur Summerfield (cropped).jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Michigan Template:Dts Template:Dts style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1953–1961)
58 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:J. Edward Day 1961.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". California Template:Dts Template:Dts rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1961–1963)
59 rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:John A. Gronouski.png Script error: No such module "Sort". Wisconsin Template:Dts Template:Dts
rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1963–1969)
60 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Larry O'Brien 1961.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Massachusetts Template:Dts Template:Dts
61 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Portrait officiel de W. Marvin Watson.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Texas Template:Dts Template:Dts
62 style="background: Template:Party color;" | File:Winton M. Blount.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Alabama Template:Dts Template:Dts style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1969–1974)

US Postal Service (1971–present)

<templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" />
  Denotes acting capacity.
No. Portrait Name Start[14] End Ref. President(s)
62 File:Winton M. Blount.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1969–1974)
63 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1969–1974)
rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1974–1977)
64 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1974–1977)
rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1977–1981)
65 File:William Bolger 1984.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1977–1981)
rowspan=5 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1981–1989)
66 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1981–1989)
67 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1981–1989)
68 File:BobTisch.jpeg Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1981–1989)
69 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1981–1989)
rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1989–1993)
70 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1989–1993)
rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1993–2001)
71 Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts Script error: No such module "Sort".
(1993–2001)
rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(2001–2009)
72 File:Jack Potter 72nd United States Postmaster General.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts [15][16] Script error: No such module "Sort".
(2001–2009)
rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(2009–2017)
73 File:Patrick R. Donahoe 2013 (cropped).jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts [17][18] Script error: No such module "Sort".
(2009–2017)
74 File:Megan Brennan USPMG at 225th Anniversary of U.S. Coast Guard stamp event.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts [19][20] Script error: No such module "Sort".
(2009–2017)
rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(2017–2021)
75 File:Official portrait of Louis DeJoy, United States Postmaster General.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts Template:Dts [21][22] Script error: No such module "Sort".
(2017–2021)
style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(2021–2025)
rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Party color;" | Script error: No such module "Sort".
(2025–present)
– File:Acting United States Postmaster General Doug Tulino.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort".
Acting 		Template:Dts Template:Dts [22] Script error: No such module "Sort".
(2025–present)
76 File:David P. Steiner.jpg Script error: No such module "Sort". Template:Dts present [23] Script error: No such module "Sort".
(2025–present)

See also

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

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  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Since July 1, 1971, the postmaster general has been appointed by and serves under the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service.
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

External links

  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

Template:United States Postal Service Template:USPostGen Script error: No such module "Navbox". Template:Benjamin Franklin Template:USAConfGov Template:Authority control

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