United States Postmaster General
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
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
- REDIRECT Template:Legend inline
- REDIRECT Template:Legend inline
- 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
- REDIRECT Template:Legend inline
- REDIRECT Template:Legend inline
- 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
- Postmaster General
- John Reagan, the only postmaster general of the Confederate States
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Since July 1, 1971, the postmaster general has been appointed by and serves under the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ 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