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James O. Mason | |
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| United States Assistant Secretary for Health | |
| In office 1989–1993 | |
| President | George H. W. Bush |
| Confidential Assistant | A. Cornelius Baker |
| Preceded by | Robert E. Windom |
| Succeeded by | Philip R. Lee |
| Surgeon General of the United States Acting | |
| In office October 1, 1989 – March 9, 1990 | |
| President | Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush |
| Preceded by | C. Everett Koop |
| Succeeded by | Antonia Novello |
| 11th Director of theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention | |
| In office 1983–1989 | |
| President | Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | William H. Foege |
| Succeeded by | William L. Roper |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Ostermann Mason (1930-06-19)June 19, 1930 Salt Lake City,Utah, U.S. |
| Died | October 9, 2019(2019-10-09) (aged 89) |
| Education | University of Utah(BA)(MD) Harvard University(PhD) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  Public Health Service |
| Years of service | 1983–1993 |
| Rank |  Admiral |
James Ostermann Mason (June 19, 1930 – October 9, 2019) was an American medical doctor and public health administrator. He was theUnited States Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH) from 1989 to 1993 and the ActingSurgeon General of the United States from 1989 to 1990. As the ASH he was also a former four-staradmiral in theUnited States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. He was also a director of theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention and ageneral authority ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
Born inSalt Lake City,Utah, Mason earnedB.A. andM.D. degrees from theUniversity of Utah. Mason received an MPH degree from Harvard in 1963. In 1967, he completed aDrPH degree[1] in public health fromHarvard University.
Mason did residencies at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Mason was the first managing director of the LDS Church's Unified Welfare Services, directing the church's hospital system beginning in 1970 when the church moved general authorities to a position of developing policy and handing over the managing of professional departments to hired professionals. In this position he gave a talk in LDSgeneral conference announcing the health missionary plan in 1971. He continued as head of the church's hospitals until 1975 when the church spun them off asIntermountain Healthcare to allow it to focus health resources more to assist members around the world.
From 1978 to 1979, Mason served as chair of the division of community medicine in the University of Utah's college of medicine.
Mason served as the executive director of the Utah Department of Health from 1979 until 1983, when he was named director of theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) inAtlanta, Georgia; Mason held the directorship of the CDC until 1989. In 1993, he was presented with theGorgas Medal from theAssociation of Military Surgeons of the United States (AMSUS).[citation needed]
In 1989, theU.S. Senate confirmed Mason as Assistant Secretary for Health, which made him head of theUnited States Public Health Service, and Acting Surgeon General. He later served as the American delegate to theWorld Health Organization.
In 1994, Mason was appointed as a general authority by the LDS Church, serving in theSecond Quorum of the Seventy until 2000. From 2000 to 2003, Mason waspresident of the church'sBountiful Utah Temple.
As a young man, Mason served achurch mission toDenmark. Before his appointment as a general authority, Mason served as abishop,stake president, andregional representative. In 1974, while serving as Church Commissioner for Health Services, Mason wrote a pamphlet for the church titled, "Attitudes of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Toward Certain Medical Problems", which expresses the church's views onabortion,birth control, andhomosexuality.[2]
Mason married Marie Smith in 1952 in theSalt Lake Temple and they were the parents of seven children. Mason died on October 9, 2019.[3]
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