To date there have been 25 leaders of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing filling 26 different terms (William M. Meredith headed the BEP twice, first from 1889-1893 and then again from 1900-1906). They were originally designated as “chief”. This title arose while the BEP was still a subdivision of Treasury operations and lasted into the 1890s, long after the BEP became an independent entity. Thereafter, heads of the BEP were known as “directors.” A number of the early chiefs and directors were political appointees, but most came from a background in government service, with some rising from the ranks of the BEP production floor. Click on a portrait below to view a short biography of a past BEP leader.
Past BEP Directors
- 1862-1868
- 1869-1876
- 1876-1877
- 1877-1878
- 1878-1883
- 1883-1885
- 1885-1889
- 1889-1893, 1900-1906
- 1893-1900
- 1889-1893, 1900-1906
- 1906-1908
- 1908-1917
- 1917-1922
- 1922-1924
- 1924-1954
- 1954-1967
- 1967-1977
- 1977-1979
- 1979-1982
- 1983-1988
- 1988-1995
- 1995-1997
- 1998-2006
- 2006-2015
- 2015-2023