Joseph A. Califano, Jr.

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Joseph A. Califano, Jr. as a young man.
Joseph A. Califano, Jr. as a young man.

Joseph Anthony Califano, Jr. (born May 15, 1931) is as of 2005 the Chairman of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. He has held many posts in the United States Government including United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare from 1977 until 1979. He is now one of only two living former secretaries of Health, Education, and Welfare (the other is his predecessor, Forest David Mathews).

Califano graduated from College of the Holy Cross in 1952 and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1955.

Califano held various legal positions in the United States Department of Defense, eventually becoming the general counsel of the United States Army. Califano was awarded the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal.

In 1964, Califano became a special assistant to the United States Secretary of Defense, and deputy secretary. He was appointed to several committees by President of the United States Lyndon Johnson. In July 1965, he became a special assistant to the president, and served as President Johnson's senior domestic policy aide. He was called "The Deputy President for Domestic Affairs" by The New York Times. He served in that post for the remainder of Johnson's term.

In January 1977, Califano was appointed Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare by newly elected president Jimmy Carter. His major initiatives included prevention programs to support childhood immunizations and against smoking. The department began efforts to collect defaulted student loans. He was fired by President Carter during a major cabinet reshuffle in 1979 largely because of his "blunt, high-profile, self-promoting approach cost Carter too many political allies" (Shea). Califano's lack of popularity by White House staff and his identification with Senator Edward Kennedy were also cited as contributing factors to his dismissal.

Congress brought contempt proceedings against Califano in 1979 (United States Congress) and the New York State Legislature passed legislation specifically barring him from sitting on the state's Commission on Ethics (Cuomo).

From 1983 until 1992, Califano was senior partner and head of the Washington office of the law firm of Dewey Ballantine. Since 1992, he has been the chairman of the National Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA), an organization that he established.

Califano has written several books, including:

  • Governing America: An Insider's Report from the White House and the Cabinet
  • The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson: The White House Years
  • Radical Surgery: What's Next for America's Health Care
  • America's Health Care Revolution: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Pays
  • Inside: A Public and Private Life
  • High Society - How Substance Abuse Ravages America and What to Do About It
  • The Student Revolution: A Global Confrontation

[edit] References

  • Cuomo to Sign Bill Barring Califano. New York Times, 1987 (April 11), 136, p. 9(N), p. 29(L), col 2.
  • Shea, C. Thou Shalt Not: Once a Presidential Adviser and Legal Heavyweight, Joe Califano Now Is Thundering Against Drugs. And Woe Be to Those Who Doubt His Data or Get in His Way. Washingtonian Magazine, October, 1998.
  • United States Congress. House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Contempt Proceedings against Secretary of HEW, Joseph A. Califano, Jr. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1979.)

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Forest David Mathews		 United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
1977–1979		 Succeeded by
Patricia R. Harris
v • d • e
United States Secretaries of Health, Education, and Welfare
Hobby • Folsom • Flemming • Ribicoff • Celebrezze • Gardner • Cohen • Finch • Richardson • Weinberger • Mathews • Califano • Harris
 Seal of the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare