United States Postmaster General
Chief executive of the US Postal Service
The United States postmaster general (PMG ) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS).[2] 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.[3] The appointment of the postmaster general does not require Senate confirmation.[4] [5] The governors and the postmaster general elect the deputy postmaster general.
The current officeholder is Louis DeJoy , who was appointed on June 16, 2020.[6]
History
The office of U.S. postmaster general dates back to country's founding. The first position, during the colonial-era British America , was that of Postmaster General . 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.[7] The formal office of the United States postmaster general was established by act of government on September 22, 1789.[8]
From 1829 to 1971, the postmaster general was the head of the Post Office Department (or simply "Post Office" until the 1820s.[9] : 60–65 ) 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 .[9] : 120
After passage of the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act in 1883 and prior to the passage of the Hatch Act of 1939 ,[10] 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 .[11]
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 who 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[12] 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.[9] : 120 [13]
List of postmasters general
Under the Continental Congress (1775–1789)
US Post Office Department (1789–1971)
As non-Cabinet department (1789–1829)
Parties
Independent
Federalist
Democratic-Republican
Name
State
Start
End
President(s)
Samuel Osgood
Massachusetts
September 26, 1789
August 12, 1791
George Washington
Timothy Pickering
Pennsylvania
August 12, 1791
January 1, 1795
George Washington
Joseph Habersham
Georgia
February 25, 1795
November 28, 1801
George Washington
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
Gideon Granger
Connecticut
November 28, 1801
March 17, 1814
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
Return Meigs
Ohio
March 17, 1814
June 26, 1823
James Madison
James Monroe
John McLean
Ohio
June 26, 1823
March 4, 1829
James Monroe
John Quincy Adams
As cabinet department (1829–1971)
Parties
Democratic
Whig
Republican
Name
State
Start
End
President(s)
William Barry
Kentucky
March 9, 1829
April 10, 1835
Andrew Jackson
Amos Kendall
Kentucky
May 1, 1835
May 18, 1840
Andrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren
John Niles
Connecticut
May 19, 1840
March 4, 1841
Martin Van Buren
Francis Granger
New York
March 6, 1841
September 18, 1841
William Henry Harrison
John Tyler
Charles Wickliffe
Kentucky
September 18, 1841
March 4, 1845
John Tyler
Cave Johnson
Tennessee
March 6, 1845
March 4, 1849
James K. Polk
Jacob Collamer
Vermont
March 8, 1849
July 22, 1850
Zachary Taylor
Nathan Hall
New York
July 23, 1850
August 31, 1852
Millard Fillmore
Samuel Hubbard
Connecticut
August 31, 1852
March 4, 1853
Millard Fillmore
James Campbell
Pennsylvania
March 7, 1853
March 4, 1857
Franklin Pierce
Aaron Brown
Tennessee
March 6, 1857
March 8, 1859
James Buchanan
Joseph Holt
Kentucky
March 9, 1859
December 31, 1860
James Buchanan
Horatio King
Maine
February 12, 1861
March 4, 1861
James Buchanan
Montgomery Blair
District of Columbia
March 5, 1861
September 24, 1864
Abraham Lincoln
William Dennison
Ohio
September 24, 1864
July 25, 1866
Abraham Lincoln
Andrew Johnson
Alexander Randall
Wisconsin
July 25, 1866
March 4, 1869
Andrew Johnson
John Creswell
Maryland
March 5, 1869
June 22, 1874
Ulysses S. Grant
James Marshall
Virginia
July 3, 1874
August 24, 1874
Ulysses S. Grant
Marshall Jewell
Connecticut
August 24, 1874
July 12, 1876
Ulysses S. Grant
James Tyner
Indiana
July 12, 1876
March 3, 1877
Ulysses S. Grant
David Key
Tennessee
March 12, 1877
June 2, 1880
Rutherford B. Hayes
Horace Maynard
Tennessee
June 2, 1880
March 4, 1881
Rutherford B. Hayes
Thomas James
New York
March 5, 1881
December 20, 1881
James A. Garfield
Chester A. Arthur
Timothy Howe
Wisconsin
December 20, 1881
March 25, 1883
Chester A. Arthur
Walter Gresham
Indiana
April 3, 1883
September 4, 1884
Chester A. Arthur
Frank Hatton
Iowa
October 14, 1884
March 4, 1885
Chester A. Arthur
William Vilas
Wisconsin
March 6, 1885
January 6, 1888
Grover Cleveland
Donald Dickinson
Michigan
January 6, 1888
March 4, 1889
Grover Cleveland
John Wanamaker
Pennsylvania
March 5, 1889
March 4, 1893
Benjamin Harrison
Wilson Bissell
New York
March 6, 1893
March 1, 1895
Grover Cleveland
William Wilson
West Virginia
March 1, 1895
March 4, 1897
Grover Cleveland
James Gary
Maryland
March 5, 1897
April 21, 1898
William McKinley
Charles Smith
Pennsylvania
April 21, 1898
January 8, 1902
William McKinley
Theodore Roosevelt
Henry Payne
Wisconsin
January 9, 1902
October 4, 1904
Theodore Roosevelt
Robert Wynne
Pennsylvania
October 10, 1904
March 5, 1905
Theodore Roosevelt
George Cortelyou
New York
March 6, 1905
January 14, 1907
Theodore Roosevelt
George Meyer
Massachusetts
January 15, 1907
March 4, 1909
Theodore Roosevelt
Frank Hitchcock
Massachusetts
March 5, 1909
March 4, 1913
William Howard Taft
Albert Burleson
Texas
March 5, 1913
March 4, 1921
Woodrow Wilson
Will Hays
Indiana
March 5, 1921
March 3, 1922
Warren G. Harding
Hubert Work
Colorado
March 4, 1922
March 4, 1923
Warren G. Harding
Harry New
Indiana
March 4, 1923
March 3, 1929
Warren G. Harding
Calvin Coolidge
Walter Brown
Ohio
March 5, 1929
March 4, 1933
Herbert Hoover
James Farley
New York
March 4, 1933
September 10, 1940
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Frank Walker
Pennsylvania
September 10, 1940
May 8, 1945
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman
Robert Hannegan
Missouri
May 8, 1945
December 15, 1947
Harry S. Truman
Jesse Donaldson
Missouri
December 16, 1947
January 20, 1953
Harry S. Truman
Arthur Summerfield
Michigan
January 21, 1953
January 20, 1961
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Edward Day
California
January 21, 1961
August 9, 1963
John F. Kennedy
John Gronouski
Wisconsin
September 30, 1963
November 2, 1965
John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
Larry O'Brien
Massachusetts
November 3, 1965
April 10, 1968
Lyndon B. Johnson
Marvin Watson
Texas
April 26, 1968
January 20, 1969
Lyndon B. Johnson
Winton Blount
Alabama
January 22, 1969
January 1, 1971
Richard Nixon
US Postal Service (1971–present)
Name
Start[14]
End
President(s)
Winton Blount
January 1, 1971
January 1, 1972
Richard Nixon
Ted Klassen
January 1, 1972
February 16, 1975
Richard Nixon
Gerald Ford
Benjamin Bailar
February 16, 1975
March 15, 1978
Gerald Ford
Jimmy Carter
William Bolger
March 15, 1978
January 1, 1985
Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
Paul Carlin
January 1, 1985
January 7, 1986
Ronald Reagan
Albert Casey
January 7, 1986
August 16, 1986
Ronald Reagan
Preston Tisch
August 16, 1986
March 1, 1988
Ronald Reagan
Anthony Frank
March 1, 1988
July 6, 1992
Ronald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
Marvin Runyon
July 6, 1992
May 16, 1998
George H. W. Bush
Bill Clinton
William Henderson
May 16, 1998
May 31, 2001
Bill Clinton
George W. Bush
John Potter
June 1, 2001
December 6, 2010
George W. Bush
Barack Obama
Patrick Donahoe
January 14, 2011
February 1, 2015
Barack Obama
Megan Brennan
February 1, 2015
June 15, 2020
Barack Obama
Donald Trump
Louis DeJoy
June 15, 2020
present
Donald Trump
Joe Biden
See also
References
^ "DeJoy hired four people who worked for his businesses to work at USPS" . CNN . September 15, 2020. Archived from the original on September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020 .
^ "39 U.S. Code § 203 – Postmaster General; Deputy Postmaster General" . Archived from the original on 2022-02-03. Retrieved 2020-08-20 .
^ "Members of the Board of Governors - Who we are - About.usps.com" . about.usps.com . Archived from the original on 2020-11-16. Retrieved 2024-04-01 .
^ "Board of Governors Announces Selection of Louis DeJoy to Serve as Nation's 75th Postmaster General - Newsroom - About.usps.com" . about.usps.com . Archived from the original on 2020-11-16. Retrieved 2024-04-01 .
^ "39 U.S. Code § 202 – Board of Governors" . Archived from the original on 2022-01-29. Retrieved 2020-08-20 .
^ "PMG/CEO Louis DeJoy - Who we are/Leadership - About.usps.com" . about.usps.com . Archived from the original on 2022-03-24. Retrieved 2024-04-01 .
^ "Benjamin Franklin — About USPS" (PDF) . United States Postal Service . Historian US Postal Service. February 2003. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 October 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019 .
^ "Letters Sent By the Postmaster General, 1789-1836" . National Archives and Records Service . 15 August 2016. Archived from the original on 22 October 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2023 .
^ a b c The United States Postal Service: An American History 1775–2006 (PDF) . United States Postal Service. 2020. ISBN 978-0-9630952-4-4 . Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-06-06. Retrieved 2012-04-17 .
^ Savage, Sean J. (1991). Roosevelt: The Party Leader, 1932–1945 . University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0813117553 . Archived from the original on July 9, 2020.
^ "Farley and Howe to Rule Patronage; to Ease Roosevelt's Burden, They Will Meet the Office-seekers at Capital. Working All Next Month. Meantime, Republicans Plan to Reorganize Committees and Start Publicity for 1936" . The New York Times . January 11, 1933. Archived from the original on March 6, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2020 .
^ "History of the United States Postal Service" . Mailbox Near Me . Archived from the original on 2022-03-06. Retrieved 2019-11-07 .
^ "About the Board of Governors" . United States Postal Service. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2018-05-18 .
^ Since July 1, 1971, the postmaster general has been appointed by and serves under the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service .
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