Q: How many 'czars' has the United States President Barack Obama appointed to serve in the government? Who are they?
A: The highest number mentioned of such executive appointees referred to as 'czars' is 26.
Here's a developing list of the names of the 'czars' by Obama:
1. Compensation Czar aka Pay Czar: Kenneth Feinberg, Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation.
2. Health-Care Czar: Nancy Ann DeParle, Counselor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Health Reform. Appointed in March 2009.
3. Urban Czar: Aldolfo Carrion, Jr.
4. Great Lakes Czar: Cameron Davis, Chicago-based environmentalist
5. Iran Czar: Dennis Ross (aka Persian Gulf / Southwest Asia Czar)
6. Middle East Czar: George Mitchell
7. Energy Czar / Climate Czar: Carol Browner, former EPA chief
8. Pakistan Czar / Afghanistan Czar: Richard Holbrooke
9. Bank-Bailout Czar aka TARP Czar: Herb Allison
10. Border Czar: Alan Bersin, former DOJ official
11. Drug Czar: Gil Kerlikowske, former Seattle police chief, now head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
* The term "Drug Czar" was first used by Joe Biden in 1982.
12. Cyber-Security Czar: Melissa Hathaway - resignation effective August 21
- they're having a hard time finding a new cyber czar
13. WMD Non-Proliferation Czar: Gary Samore
14. Faith-Based Czar: Joshua DuBois
15. Regulatory Czar: Cass Sunstein, Harvard Law Professor
16. Car Czar: Dr. Ed Montgomery, head of the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry
*The other "car czar" Steve Rattner was reportedly forced to step down in July 2009 after he became embroiled in a corruption scandal involving a kickback scheme at New York state's pension fund.
17. War Czar: Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute (carryover from President Bush)
18. Stimulus-Accountability Czar aka Stimulus Watchdog Czar: Earl Devaney, former Secret Service agent, RAT board chairman
19. AIDS Czar: Jeffrey Crowley, Head of the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP)
20. Energy Czar / Climate Czar / Global-Warming Czar: Carol Browner
21. Green-Jobs Czar: Van Jones, Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). Announced his resignation over Labor Day weekend. He had been under fire for calling Republicans "assholes" in a video taped before he was called to head up Obama's green jobs program.
22. Guantanamo Base Closure Czar: Daniel Fried
23. Terrorism Czar: John O. Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism
24. Infotech Czar: Vivek Kundra, Chief Information Officer of the United States
25. FCC Diversity Czar: Mark Lloyd, Associate General Counsel and Chief Diversity Officer at the Federal Communications Commission. Appointed on August 4, 2009.
26. Manufacturing Czar: Ron Bloom, Senior Counselor for Manufacturing Policy. Appointed on September 7, 2009.
More czars to come!
Q: By the way, what is a czar?
A: Czars are presidential appointees who are not required to undergo Senate confirmations hearings.
The most recently updated list is here.
