Administrator of Veterans Affairs
The Administrator of Veterans Affairs was the head of the Veterans Administration, a United States Government agency responsible for military veterans benefits. The administrator was appointed by the President. In 1989, the Veterans Administration was replaced by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (a member of the cabinet) as its head. The last VA administrator, Derwinski, went on to become the first Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Directors of Veterans Bureau
[edit]Before the VA was established on July 21, 1930, its functions were carried out by the U.S. Veterans’ Bureau, the Bureau of Pensions of the Interior Department, and the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. The director of the Veterans' Bureau corresponds somewhat with the later position of Administrator.
| Name | Start | End | President(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Forbes | August 9, 1921 | February 28, 1923 | Warren G. Harding (1921–1923) | |
| Frank Hines | March 2, 1923 | July 21, 1930 | ||
| Calvin Coolidge (1923–1929) | ||||
| Herbert Hoover (1929–1933) | ||||
Administrators of Veterans Affairs
[edit]| Name | Start | End | President(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Hines | July 21, 1930 | August 15, 1945 | Herbert Hoover (1929–1933) | |
| Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945) | ||||
| Harry S. Truman (1945–1953) | ||||
| Omar Bradley | August 15, 1945 | November 30, 1947 | ||
| Carl Gray | January 1, 1948 | June 30, 1953 | ||
| Harvey Higley | July 22, 1953 | November 13, 1957 | Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961) | |
| Sumner Whittier | December 18, 1957 | January 20, 1961 | ||
| John Gleason | January 30, 1961 | January 1, 1965 | John F. Kennedy (1961–1963) | |
| Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969) | ||||
| William Driver | January 1, 1965 | May 31, 1969 | ||
| Richard Nixon (1969–1974) | ||||
| Donald Johnson | June 23, 1969 | October 12, 1974 | ||
| Gerald Ford (1974–1977) | ||||
| Richard Roudebush | October 12, 1974 | January 20, 1977 | ||
| Max Cleland | January 20, 1977 | January 20, 1981 | Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) | |
| Bob Nimmo | July 15, 1981 | January 5, 1983 | Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) | |
| Harry Walters | January 5, 1983 | March 21, 1986 | ||
| Thomas Turnage | March 21, 1986 | January 20, 1989 | ||
| Ed Derwinski | January 21, 1989 | March 15, 1989 | George H. W. Bush (1989–1993) | |
