White House Social Secretary
Incumbent Carlos Elizondo since January 20, 2021
Executive Office of the President White House Office
Appointer	Joe Biden as President of the United States
Formation	October 2, 1901 (1901-10-02)
First holder	Belle Hagner
Website	The White House

The White House social secretary is responsible for the planning, coordination, and execution of official social events at the White House, the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States.

Function

The social secretary is head of the White House Social Office, located in the East Wing of the White House Complex. The social secretary plans events ranging from those as simple as a tea for the first lady and a single official guest to dinners for more than 200 guests. The social secretary works with the White House chief usher to coordinate domestic staff and with the chief of protocol of the United States, an official within the United States Department of State, to plan state visits and accompanying state dinners. The social secretary works with the White House Graphics and Calligraphy Office in the production of invitations to social events.

The social secretary works on both the political and non-political functions of the presidency, coordinating events for the president, the first lady, and senior political staff. The White House social secretary serves at the president's pleasure and is appointed by each administration.

Notable office-holders

On February 25, 2011, the White House appointed Jeremy Bernard, the first male, and first openly gay, social secretary in that position's history. "I have long admired the arts and education programs that have become hallmarks of the Obama White House and I am eager to continue these efforts in the years ahead," Bernard said during the announcing press conference.^[1][2][3]

Betty Ford with former Social Secretaries

List of White House social secretaries

No.	Image	Social Secretary	Term of office	President
1		Belle Hagner[4]	1901–1909	Theodore Roosevelt
2		Alice Blech[5]	1909–1910	William Howard Taft
3		Mary Spiers[6]	1910–1913
4		Belle Hagner[7]	1913–1915	Woodrow Wilson
5		Edith Benham Helm[8]	1915–1921
6		Laura Harlan[9]	1921–1923	Warren G. Harding
			1923–1929[9]	Calvin Coolidge
7		Mary Randolph[10]	1929–1931	Herbert Hoover
8		Doris Goss[11]	1931–1933
9		Edith Benham Helm[8]	1933–1945	Franklin D. Roosevelt
			1945–1953[8]	Harry S. Truman
10		Mary Jane McCaffree[12]	1955–1961	Dwight D. Eisenhower
11		Letitia Baldrige[13]	1961–1963	John F. Kennedy
12		Nancy Tuckerman[14]	1963–1963
13		Bess Abell[15][16]	1963–1969	Lyndon B. Johnson
14		Lucy Winchester[17]	1969–1974	Richard Nixon
15		Nancy Lammerding Ruwe[18]	1974–1975	Gerald Ford
16		Maria Downs[19]	1975–1977
17		Gretchen Poston[20]	1977–1981	Jimmy Carter
18		Mabel (Muffie) Brandon[21]	1981–1983	Ronald Reagan
19		Gahl Hodges[22]	1983–1985
20		Linda Faulkner[23]	1985–1989
21		Laurie Firestone[24]	1989–1993	George H. W. Bush
22		Ann Stock[25]	1993–1997	Bill Clinton
23		Capricia Marshall[26]	1997–2001
24		Catherine Fenton[27]	2001–2004	George W. Bush
25		Lea Berman[28]	2005–2007
26		Amy Zantzinger[29]	2007–2009
27		Desirée Rogers[30]	2009–2010	Barack Obama
28		Julianna Smoot[31]	2010–2011
29		Jeremy Bernard[32]	2011–2015
30		Deesha Dyer[33]	2015–2017
31		Anna Cristina Niceta Lloyd[34]	2017–2021[35]	Donald Trump
32		Carlos Elizondo[36]	2021–present	Joe Biden

References

Further reading

• Baldrige, Letitia. In the Kennedy Style: Magical Evenings in the Kennedy White House. Doubleday: 1998. ISBN 0-385-48964-1.
• Clinton, Hillary Rodham. An Invitation to the White House: At Home with History. Simon & Schuster: 2000. ISBN 0-684-85799-5.
• The White House: An Historic Guide. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 2001. ISBN 0-912308-79-6.

External links

• White House Historical Association website
• Records of the White House Social Office (1952 - 1961), Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library