The Chief Statistician of the United States is a position in the U.S. federal government's Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Chief Statistician is charged with providing coordination, guidance, and oversight for U.S. federal statistical agencies and activities.
The Chief Statistician heads the Statistical Policy Branch of the OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). The Chief Statistician is appointed by the Administrator of the OIRA.
Katherine Wallman was the Chief Statistican from 1992 to January 2017. Nancy Potok has held the position since January 2017.
History
The current position of Chief Statistician was created by the Paperwork Reduction Act in 1980.
An earlier U.S. chief statistician, Stuart Rice, chaired the nuclear session of the United Nations Statistical Commission in 1946.