United States Secretary of the Treasury

Not to be confused with Treasurer of the United States.

For other uses, see Secretary of the Treasury (disambiguation).

Secretary of the Treasury of the United States of America
Seal of the Department of the Treasury
Flag of the Secretary of the Treasury
Incumbent Steven Mnuchin since February 13, 2017
United States Department of the Treasury
Style	Mr. Secretary
Member of	The Cabinet
Reports to	The President
Seat	Washington, D.C.
Appointer	The President with Senate advice and consent
Term length	No fixed term
Constituting instrument	31 U.S.C. § 301
Inaugural holder	Alexander Hamilton
Formation	September 11, 1789 (1789-09-11)
Succession	Fifth
Deputy	Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
Salary	Executive Schedule, Level 1
Website	Treasury.gov

The Secretary of the Treasury is the head of the U.S. Department of the Treasury which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also included several federal law enforcement agencies. This position in the Federal Government of the United States is analogous to the Minister of Finance in many other countries. The Secretary of the Treasury is a member of the President's Cabinet, and is nominated by the President of the United States. Nominees for The Secretary of the Treasury undergo a confirmation hearing before the United States Senate Committee on Finance before being confirmed by the United States Senate.

The Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Defense are generally regarded as the four most important cabinet officials because of the importance of their departments. The Secretary of the Treasury is a non-statutory member of the U.S. National Security Council and fifth in the United States presidential line of succession.

Powers and functions

The Secretary of the Treasury is the principal economic advisor to the President and plays a critical role in policy-making by bringing an economic and government financial policy perspective to issues facing the government. The Secretary is responsible for formulating and recommending domestic and international financial, economic, and tax policy, participating in the formulation of broad fiscal policies that have general significance for the economy, and managing the public debt. The Secretary oversees the activities of the Department in carrying out its major law enforcement responsibilities; in serving as the financial agent for the United States Government; and in manufacturing coins and currency. The Chief Financial Officer of the government, the Secretary serves as Chairman Pro Tempore of the President's Economic Policy Council, Chairman of the Boards and Managing Trustee of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds, and as U.S. Governor of the International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

— U.S. Department of the Treasury Web site

The Secretary along with the Treasurer must sign Federal Reserve notes before they can become legal tender. The Secretary also manages the United States Emergency Economic Stabilization fund.

Most of the Department's law enforcement agencies such as the U.S. Customs Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the U.S. Secret Service were reassigned to other Departments in 2003 in conjunction with the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.

The Secretary of the Treasury salary is $205,700 annually.

List of Secretaries of the Treasury

Parties

  No party (1)   Federalist (4)   Democratic-Republican (4)   Democratic (29)   Whig (5)   Republican (34)

Status

  Denotes acting Secretary of the Treasury

No.	Portrait	Name	State of Residence	Took Office	Left Office	President(s)
style="background: Template:Federalist Party/meta/color;" |1		Alexander Hamilton	New York	September 11, 1789	January 31, 1795	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Independent (politician)/meta/color;" |	George Washington
rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Federalist Party/meta/color;" |2		Oliver Wolcott, Jr.	Connecticut	February 3, 1795	December 31, 1800
rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Federalist Party/meta/color;" |						John Adams
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Federalist Party/meta/color;" |3		Samuel Dexter	Massachusetts	January 1, 1801	May 13, 1801
rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Democratic-Republican Party/meta/color;" |						Thomas Jefferson
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Democratic-Republican Party/meta/color;" |4		Albert Gallatin	Pennsylvania	May 14, 1801	February 8, 1814
rowspan=5 style="background: Template:Democratic-Republican Party/meta/color;" |						James Madison
style="background: Template:Democratic-Republican Party/meta/color;" |5		George W. Campbell	Tennessee	February 9, 1814	October 5, 1814
style="background: Template:Democratic-Republican Party/meta/color;" |6		Alexander J. Dallas	Pennsylvania	October 6, 1814	October 21, 1816
–		William Jones[1] Acting	Pennsylvania	October 21, 1816	October 22, 1816
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Democratic-Republican Party/meta/color;" |7		William H. Crawford	Georgia	October 22, 1816	March 6, 1825
style="background: Template:Democratic-Republican Party/meta/color;" |						James Monroe
style="background: Template:Federalist Party/meta/color;" |8		Richard Rush	Pennsylvania	March 7, 1825	March 5, 1829	style="background: Template:Democratic-Republican Party/meta/color;" |	John Quincy Adams
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |9		Samuel D. Ingham	Pennsylvania	March 6, 1829	June 20, 1831	rowspan=5 style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	Andrew Jackson
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |10		Louis McLane	Delaware	August 8, 1831	May 28, 1833
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |11		William J. Duane	Pennsylvania	May 29, 1833	September 22, 1833
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |12		Roger B. Taney	Maryland	September 23, 1833	June 25, 1834
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |13		Levi Woodbury	New Hampshire	July 1, 1834	March 3, 1841
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |						Martin Van Buren
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Whig Party (United States)/meta/color;" |14		Thomas Ewing	Ohio	March 4, 1841	September 11, 1841	style="background: Template:Whig Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	William Henry Harrison
rowspan=4 style="background: Template:Whig Party (United States)/meta/color;" |						John Tyler
style="background: Template:Whig Party (United States)/meta/color;" |15		Walter Forward	Pennsylvania	September 13, 1841	March 1, 1843
style="background: Template:Whig Party (United States)/meta/color;" |16		John C. Spencer	New York	March 8, 1843	May 2, 1844
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |17		George M. Bibb	Kentucky	July 4, 1844	March 7, 1845
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |18		Robert J. Walker	Mississippi	March 8, 1845	March 5, 1849	style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	James K. Polk
style="background: Template:Whig Party (United States)/meta/color;" |19		William M. Meredith	Pennsylvania	March 8, 1849	July 22, 1850	style="background: Template:Whig Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	Zachary Taylor
style="background: Template:Whig Party (United States)/meta/color;" |20		Thomas Corwin	Ohio	July 23, 1850	March 6, 1853	style="background: Template:Whig Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	Millard Fillmore
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |21		James Guthrie	Kentucky	March 7, 1853	March 6, 1857	style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	Franklin Pierce
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |22		Howell Cobb	Georgia	March 7, 1857	December 8, 1860	rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	James Buchanan
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |23		Philip F. Thomas	Maryland	December 12, 1860	January 14, 1861
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |24		John A. Dix	New York	January 15, 1861	March 6, 1861
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |25		Salmon P. Chase	Ohio	March 7, 1861	June 30, 1864	rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	Abraham Lincoln
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |26		William P. Fessenden	Maine	July 5, 1864	March 3, 1865
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |27		Hugh McCulloch	Indiana	March 9, 1865	March 3, 1869
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |						Andrew Johnson
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |28		George S. Boutwell	Massachusetts	March 12, 1869	March 16, 1873	rowspan=4 style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	Ulysses S. Grant
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |29		William A. Richardson	Massachusetts	March 17, 1873	June 3, 1874
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |30		Benjamin H. Bristow	Kentucky	June 4, 1874	June 20, 1876
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |31		Lot M. Morrill	Maine	July 7, 1876	March 9, 1877
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |32		John Sherman	Ohio	March 10, 1877	March 3, 1881	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	Rutherford B. Hayes
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |33		William Windom	Minnesota	March 8, 1881	November 13, 1881	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	James A. Garfield
rowspan=4 style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |						Chester A. Arthur
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |34		Charles J. Folger	New York	November 14, 1881	September 4, 1884
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |35		Walter Q. Gresham	Indiana	September 5, 1884	October 30, 1884
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |36		Hugh McCulloch	Indiana	October 31, 1884	March 7, 1885
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |37		Daniel Manning	New York	March 8, 1885	March 31, 1887	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	Grover Cleveland
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |38		Charles S. Fairchild	New York	April 1, 1887	March 6, 1889
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |39		William Windom	Minnesota	March 7, 1889	January 29, 1891	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	Benjamin Harrison
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |40		Charles W. Foster	Ohio	February 25, 1891	March 6, 1893
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |41		John G. Carlisle	Kentucky	March 7, 1893	March 5, 1897	style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	Grover Cleveland
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |42		Lyman J. Gage	Illinois	March 6, 1897	January 31, 1902	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	William McKinley
rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |						Theodore Roosevelt
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |43		Leslie M. Shaw	Iowa	February 1, 1902	March 3, 1907
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |44		George B. Cortelyou	New York	March 4, 1907	March 7, 1909
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |45		Franklin MacVeagh	Illinois	March 8, 1909	March 5, 1913	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	William Howard Taft
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |46		William G. McAdoo	California	March 6, 1913	December 15, 1918	rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	Woodrow Wilson
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |47		Carter Glass	Virginia	December 16, 1918	February 1, 1920
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |48		David F. Houston	Missouri	February 2, 1920	March 3, 1921
rowspan="3" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |49		Andrew W. Mellon	Pennsylvania	March 4, 1921	February 12, 1932	style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	Warren G. Harding
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |						Calvin Coolidge
rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |						Herbert Hoover
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |50		Ogden L. Mills	New York	February 13, 1932	March 4, 1933
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |51		William H. Woodin	New York	March 5, 1933	December 31, 1933	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	Franklin D. Roosevelt
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |52		Henry Morgenthau, Jr.	New York	January 1, 1934	July 22, 1945
rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |						Harry S. Truman
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |53		Fred M. Vinson	Kentucky	July 23, 1945	June 23, 1946
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |54		John W. Snyder	Missouri	June 25, 1946	January 20, 1953
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |55		George M. Humphrey	Ohio	January 21, 1953	July 29, 1957	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	Dwight D. Eisenhower
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |56		Robert B. Anderson	Connecticut	July 29, 1957	January 20, 1961
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |57		C. Douglas Dillon	New Jersey	January 21, 1961	April 1, 1965	style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	John F. Kennedy
rowspan=3 style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |						Lyndon B. Johnson
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |58		Henry H. Fowler	Virginia	April 1, 1965	December 20, 1968
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |59		Joseph W. Barr	Indiana	December 21, 1968	January 20, 1969
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |60		David M. Kennedy	Utah	January 22, 1969	February 10, 1971	rowspan=4 style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	Richard Nixon
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |61		John B. Connally, Jr.	Texas	February 11, 1971	June 12, 1972
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |62		George P. Shultz	Illinois	June 12, 1972	May 8, 1974
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |63		William E. Simon	New Jersey	May 8, 1974	January 20, 1977
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |						Gerald Ford
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |64		W. Michael Blumenthal	Michigan	January 23, 1977	August 4, 1979	rowspan=2 style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	Jimmy Carter
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |65		G. William Miller	Rhode Island	August 7, 1979	January 20, 1981
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |66		Donald T. Regan	New Jersey	January 22, 1981	February 1, 1985	rowspan=4 style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	Ronald Reagan
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |67		James A. Baker III	Texas	February 4, 1985	August 17, 1988
–		M. Peter McPherson[2] Acting	Michigan	August 17, 1988	September 15, 1988
rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |68		Nicholas F. Brady	New Jersey	September 15, 1988	January 17, 1993
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |						George H. W. Bush
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |69		Lloyd Bentsen	Texas	January 20, 1993	December 22, 1994	rowspan=4 style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	Bill Clinton
–		Frank N. Newman[3] Acting	Massachusetts	December 22, 1994	January 11, 1995
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |70		Robert E. Rubin	New York	January 11, 1995	July 2, 1999
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |71		Lawrence H. Summers	Massachusetts	July 2, 1999	January 20, 2001
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |72		Paul H. O'Neill	Pennsylvania	January 20, 2001	December 31, 2002	rowspan=5 style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	George W. Bush
–		Kenneth W. Dam[4] Acting	Illinois	December 31, 2002	February 3, 2003
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |73		John W. Snow	Virginia	February 3, 2003	June 30, 2006
–		Robert M. Kimmitt[5] Acting	Virginia	June 30, 2006	July 10, 2006
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |74		Henry M. Paulson, Jr.	Illinois	July 10, 2006	January 20, 2009
–		Stuart A. Levey[6] Acting	Ohio	January 20, 2009	January 26, 2009	rowspan="4" style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	Barack Obama
style="background: Template:Independent (politician)/meta/color;" |75		Timothy F. Geithner	New York	January 26, 2009	January 25, 2013
–		Neal S. Wolin[7] Acting	Illinois	January 25, 2013	February 28, 2013
style="background: Template:Democratic Party (United States)/meta/color;" |76		Jack Lew	New York	February 28, 2013	January 20, 2017
–		Adam Szubin[8] Acting	Washington, D.C.	January 20, 2017	February 13, 2017	rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |	Donald Trump
style="background: Template:Republican Party (United States)/meta/color;" |77		Steven Mnuchin	California	February 13, 2017	Incumbent

¹ William Jones served as acting secretary between the resignation of Alexander J. Dallas and appointment of William H. Crawford.

² Deputy Secretary of the Treasury M. Peter McPherson served as Acting Secretary of the Treasury from August 17, 1988, to September 15, 1988.

³ Because of the resignation of Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Roger Altman in August 1994, Under Secretary of Treasury for Domestic Finance Frank N. Newman served from December 22, 1994, to January 11, 1995 as Acting Secretary of the Treasury.

⁴ Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Kenneth W. Dam served as Acting Secretary of the Treasury from December 31, 2002, to February 3, 2003.

⁵ Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Robert M. Kimmitt served as Acting Secretary of the Treasury from June 30, 2006, to July 9, 2006.

⁶ Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart A. Levey served as Acting Secretary of the Treasury from January 20, 2009, until the confirmation of Timothy Geithner, which occurred January 26, 2009.

⁷ Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Neal Wolin served as Acting Secretary of the Treasury from January 25, 2013, until the confirmation of Jack Lew which occurred February 28, 2013.

⁸ Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam J. Szubin served as Acting Secretary of the Treasury from January 20, 2017, until the confirmation of Steven Mnuchin which occurred February 13, 2017.

The former flag of the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, originating from the 19th century.

If both the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury are unable to carry out the duties of the office of Secretary of the Treasury, then whichever Treasury official of Under Secretary rank sworn in earliest assumes the role of Acting Secretary. Positions listed on the Department of the Treasury website include the Under Secretary for Domestic Finance, the Under Secretary for International Affairs, and the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

Living former Secretaries of the Treasury

See also: List of living former members of the United States Cabinet

As of December 2024, there are eleven living former Secretaries of the Treasury, the oldest being George P. Shultz (served 1972-1974, born 1920). The most recent Secretary of the Treasury to die was Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr. (served 1993–1994, born 1921), on May 23, 2006.

Name	Term of office	Date of birth (and age)
George P. Shultz	1972–1974	(1920-12-13) December 13, 1920
W. Michael Blumenthal	1977–1979	(1926-01-03) January 3, 1926
James A. Baker	1985–1988	(1930-04-28) April 28, 1930
Nicholas F. Brady	1988–1993	(1930-04-11) April 11, 1930
Robert Rubin	1995–1999	(1938-08-29) August 29, 1938
Lawrence H. Summers	1999–2001	(1954-11-30) November 30, 1954
Paul O'Neill	2001–2002	(1935-12-04) December 4, 1935
John W. Snow	2003–2006	(1939-08-02) August 2, 1939
Henry Paulson	2006–2009	(1946-03-28) March 28, 1946
Timothy F. Geithner	2009–2013	(1961-08-18) August 18, 1961
Jack Lew	2013–2017	(1955-08-29) August 29, 1955

References

• "Secretaries of the Treasury". History of the Treasury. United States Department of the Treasury. Retrieved 9 April 2006.