William Raymond Steiger (born 1969 in
Arlington, Virginia
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...
) is a Public Policy Fellow at the
Wilson Center
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (or Wilson Center) is a quasi-government entity and think tank which conducts research to inform public policy. Located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washi ...
in Washington, D.C.. He served as Chief of Staff at the
United States Agency for international Development
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...
from 2017 to 2021.
Previously, Steiger was the chief program officer at Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon, an organization affiliated with the George W. Bush Institute, which works to reduce deaths from
cervical cancer
Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms may include abnormal ...
and
breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...
in low- and middle-income countries. He was the Special Assistant to the Secretary for International Affairs and the Director of the Office of Global Health Affairs at the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is " ...
(DHHS) during the
George W. Bush Administration
George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following a narrow victory over Democratic in ...
, with a portfolio that included
HIV/AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...
,
malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
,
avian flu
Avian influenza, known informally as avian flu or bird flu, is a variety of influenza caused by viruses adapted to birds.[pandemic
A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...](_blank)
-
influenza
Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...
preparedness.
Early life and education
Steiger is the son of the late Congressman
William A. Steiger
William Albert Steiger (May 15, 1938 – December 4, 1978) was a member of the US House of Representatives from 1967 to his death from a heart attack in Washington, DC, in 1978. He served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican from Wis ...
(a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
who represented the 6th District of Wisconsin) and the late
Janet Dempsey Steiger, former Chair of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, and the godson of former President
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
.
Steiger graduated ''cum laude'' in 1987 from the college preparatory
St. Albans School for Boys in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
He graduated from
Yale College
Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...
''
summa cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...
'' with a degree in history in 1991. He earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in Latin American History at the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
. In 1995–96, Steiger was a
Luce Scholar in the Philippines; he taught Latin American History at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, and the Ateneo de Manila University.
Bush Administration tenure
Steiger's role in the Bush Administration was the subject of controversy. He was charged with implementing a Bush Administration policy declaring that U.S. government scientists and public-health experts must "serve as representatives of the U.S. government at all times and advocate U.S. government policies." The policy required that U.S. government scientists be cleared by a political appointee before accepting invitations to
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
(WHO) meetings. The policy was criticized in the scientific community as an effort to politicize science, while the Bush Administration defended its policy by arguing than HHS was in a better position than WHO to know which scientists to send to meetings.
Steiger was involved in several other scientific-political controversies during the Bush Administration. In 2004, on behalf of the Administration, he attacked a WHO plan to combat obesity, arguing that the link between the marketing of high-fat foods and obesity was unproven, as was the role of vegetables and fruit in a healthy diet. Steiger's letter echoed complaints about the report from the U.S. sugar and food lobbies.
Steiger was also identified in a ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' story by several public health officials as responsible for blocking the publication of
U.S. Surgeon General
The surgeon general of the United States is the operational head of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government of the United States. Th ...
Richard Carmona
Richard Henry Carmona (born November 22, 1949) is an American physician, nurse, police officer, public health administrator, and politician. He was a vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and served as the seventeenth Surg ...
's report on global health problems, allegedly because the report failed to advance the Bush Administration's political agenda. Steiger, who according to the ''Post'' lacked "any background or expertise in medicine or public health", attributed the rejection of the report to "sloppy work, poor analysis, and lack of scientific rigor" on the part of the Surgeon General's office.
Later career
Steiger has served as the U.S. Member of the executive board of the
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
, President of the executive committee of the
Pan-American Health Organization
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is an international public health agency working to improve the health and living standards of the people of the Americas. It is part of the United Nations system, serving as the Regional Office for ...
, and U.S. Member and Alternate Member on the
board of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
of the
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. He acted as the HHS Secretary’s liaison to the United States
National Security Council
A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...
, the
U.S. Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
, and the
U.S. Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 ...
. He also served as the department's representative to the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator in the implementation of the
President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and to the Steering Committee that manages the
President's International Malaria Initiative.
Steiger served on the selection committee that chose
Peter Sands to succeed
Mark Dybul
Mark R. Dybul (born September 23, 1963) is an American diplomat, physician and medical researcher. He served as the executive director of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria from 2012 until 2017.
Biography Early life and e ...
as executive director of the
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (or simply the Global Fund) is an international financing and partnership organization that aims to "attract, leverage and invest additional resources to end the epidemics of HIV/AIDS, t ...
(GFATM) in 2017. Steiger served on the selection committee that chose
Peter Sands to succeed
Mark Dybul
Mark R. Dybul (born September 23, 1963) is an American diplomat, physician and medical researcher. He served as the executive director of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria from 2012 until 2017.
Biography Early life and e ...
as executive director of the
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (or simply the Global Fund) is an international financing and partnership organization that aims to "attract, leverage and invest additional resources to end the epidemics of HIV/AIDS, t ...
(GFATM) in 2017. Steiger served as the Chief of Staff at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as a political appointee in the Trump Administration.
References
External links
Steiger's official biographyCall to Action on Global Health unpublished draft report of Surgeon General Richard Carmona.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steiger, William R.
1969 births
Living people
People from Arlington County, Virginia
United States Department of Health and Human Services officials
Yale College alumni
University of California, Los Angeles alumni
George W. Bush administration controversies
George W. Bush administration personnel
St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.) alumni