Creation

On July 29, 1775, long before the Department of the Treasury ever existed, the Second Continental Congress established the Treasury Office to manage revolutionary wartime finances. Congress chose George Clymer and Michael Hillegas as joint treasurers of the United Colonies. On August 6, 1776, however, Clymer resigned from his post, thus making Hillegas the sole incumbent. The position received its current name on May 14, 1777, while Hillegas was still in office.^[6]

Change in functions over the years

The post of U.S. treasurer predates the United States Constitution. The treasurer was originally charged with the receipt and custody of all government funds independent of the treasury secretary, not unlike today's elected state treasurers. Beginning in 1939, the Office of the Treasurer and its cash management activities were brought under the direction of a broader Fiscal Service, one that also coordinated governmentwide accounting and debt management. Later in 1974, the cash management function in its entirety was transferred from the treasurer to what is now known as the Bureau of the Fiscal Service as a cost-saving measure.^[7] Responsibility for oversight of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) and the United States Mint was later assigned to the treasurer in 1981.^[8][6] In 1994, the treasurer was also named National Honorary Director of the U.S. Savings Bonds Campaign and therefore assigned the task of promoting - as opposed to managing - the program.^[9]

More recently, the requirement of the United States Senate confirmation for the appointment was dropped in August 2012.^[10]

Since the resignation of Elizabeth Rudel Smith in 1962, the length of time the office has been vacant totals nearly 4,700 days, nearly thirteen years, while in the 180+ years prior to that, such time totaled less than a year.

Female officeholders

Georgia Neese Clark Gray became treasurer on June 21, 1949, making her the first woman to hold the office.^[11] Since then, every subsequent treasurer has been a woman,^[11] and several of those women have also been Hispanic, starting with Romana Acosta Bañuelos in 1971.^[12]