In the United States,
the informal political term "czar" or "tsar" is employed in media and popular usage to refer to high-level officials who oversee a particular policy. There have never been any U.S. government offices with the title "czar", but various governmental officials have sometimes been referred to by the nickname "czar" rather than their actual title.
The earliest known use of the term for a U.S. government official was in the administration of
Franklin Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
(1933–1945), during which eleven unique positions (or twelve if one were to count "Economic Czar" and "Economic Czar of World War II" as separate) were so described. The term was revived, mostly by the press, to describe officials in the
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
and
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
administrations, and continues today.
By administration
The list is subjective and imprecise, since frequently individuals or offices might be referred to by the nickname "czar" by some publication or a political opponent, yet the actual governmental official, a majority of publications and others do not use the term. One possible definition is only those officials who are appointed by the president without Senate confirmation.
The numbers are based upon the sortable list below. Please see it for details and references. Note that what is measured is the popularity of the ''word'' czar, rather than an objective measure of authority.
Also note that under George W. Bush only 33 Czar titles had been currently found, thus only 33 Czars, although many of these titles were used by several distinct individuals. For example, there has been an Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health since the passage of the
Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977
The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-164) amended the Coal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1969. It can be found in the United States Code under Title 30, Mineral Lands and Mining, Chapter 22, Mine Safety and Health.
The S. ...
, but the phrase "mine safety czar" was only applied to the position since the controversial appointment of
Richard Stickler to the post in 2006. Similarly, there has been a director of the
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA ) is a Division within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which in turn, is within the Executive Office of the President. OIRA oversees the implementation of government-wide policie ...
since the office was created by the
Paperwork Reduction Act
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (Pub. L. No. 96-511, 94 Stat. 2812, codified at ) is a United States federal law enacted in 1980 designed to reduce the total amount of paperwork burden the federal government imposes on private businesses and c ...
of 1980, but the term "regulatory czar" was not applied to the post until 2001.
List of executive branch czars
The following are executive branch officials who have been described by the media as a czar of some kind.
See also
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Advice and consent
Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive branch of a government enacts something previo ...
*
Politics of the United States during World War II
The United States maintained its Constitutional Republic government structure throughout World War II. Certain expediencies were taken within the existing structure of the Federal government, such as conscription and other violations of civil liber ...
*
War as metaphor
The use of war as metaphor is a longstanding literary and rhetorical Trope (literature), trope. In political usage, war metaphors are used to manage a perceived societal problem, with the concept taking the place of an individual or state enemy i ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:U.S. Executive Branch Czars
Czars
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...