Lester Mills Crawford (born March 13, 1938) is an American

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

and former Commissioner of the

U.S. Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

who was appointed by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. He served from July 18, 2005 until resigning two months later in September 2005. On October 17, 2006, he pled guilty to a conflict of interest and false reporting of information about stocks he owned in food, beverage and

medical device A medical device is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. Significant potential for hazards are inherent when using a device for medical purposes and thus medical devices must be proved safe and effective with reasonable assura ...

companies he was in charge of regulating. He received a sentence of three years of supervised

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

and a

fine Fine may refer to: Characters * Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny'' * Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano Legal terms * Fine (penalty), money to be paid as punishment for an offe ...

of about $90,000.

Education

Crawford received a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree from Auburn University in 1963 and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in pharmacology from the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

in 1969. In 2004 he worked for the Bush-Cheney election campaign of 2004 as well as being a member of the

National Republican Senatorial Committee The National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC) is the Republican Hill committee for the United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lowe ...

Career

From 1978 to 1980 and from 1982 to 1985 Crawford was director of the FDA's

Center for Veterinary Medicine The Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) is a branch of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that regulates the manufacture and distribution of food, food additives, and drugs that will be given to animals. These include animals from whi ...

. From 1987 to 1991 Crawford was administrator of the

Food Safety and Inspection Service The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is the public health regulatory agency responsible for ensuring that United States' commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg pro ...

at the

U.S. Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...

. From 1997 to 2002, he was Director of the Center for Food and Nutrition Policy, based at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

before moving to

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six re ...

in 2001. Previously in his career he was chair of the Department of Physiology-Pharmacology at the

, executive vice president of the

National Food Processors Association The Food Products Association (formerly the National Food Processors Association or NFPA) was the principal U.S. scientific and technical trade association representing the food processing industry until 2007. FPA was headquartered in Washington, ...

executive director Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization. The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...

of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, and a practicing veterinarian. Crawford served as a FDA Deputy Commissioner since February 25, 2002, and served as acting Commissioner for some of this time.

Food and Drug Nomination

His 2005 nomination was controversial because Senators

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

of New York and

Patty Murray Patricia Lynn Murray (; born October 11, 1950) is an American politician and educator who is the senior United States senator from Washington since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, Murray was in the Washington State Senate from 1988 to ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, both Democrats, threatened to place holds on his confirmation vote until the FDA made its long-delayed decision on whether or not to allow

emergency contraception Emergency contraception (EC) is a birth control measure, used after sexual intercourse to prevent pregnancy. There are different forms of EC. Emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs), sometimes simply referred to as emergency contraceptives (ECs), o ...

to be sold

over the counter Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are medicines sold directly to a consumer without a requirement for a prescription from a healthcare professional, as opposed to prescription drugs, which may be supplied only to consumers possessing a valid prescr ...

, while Senator

Tom Coburn Thomas Allen Coburn (March 14, 1948 – March 28, 2020) was an American politician and physician who served as a United States senator for Oklahoma from 2005, until his resignation in 2015. A Republican, he previously served as a United St ...

of Oklahoma, a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, threatened to place a hold because the FDA failed to require new labels for condoms warning that they do not fully protect against

sexually transmitted disease Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral ...

Food and Drug Commissioner

The

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee The United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) generally considers matters relating to these issues. Its jurisdiction also extends beyond these issues to include several more specific areas, as defined by Sen ...

approved the nomination on June 15, 2005, and Crawford was

confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

by the Senate on July 18, 2005 by a vote of 78-16, with six senators not voting. Crawford resigned on September 23, 2005, just a few short months later, in a surprise announcement. He denied that allegations of financial improprieties were the reason for his departure. Bush nominated

Andrew von Eschenbach Andrew C. von Eschenbach (born October 30, 1941) was the Commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration from 2006 to 2009. He became acting Commissioner on September 26, 2005, after the resignation of his predecessor Lester Crawfo ...

to succeed Crawford. Crawford joined a Washington

lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

firm, Policy Directions Inc. On April 28, 2006, Crawford's lawyer, Barbara Van Gelder, announced that he was being investigated by a grand jury over accusations of financial improprieties and false statements to Congress. On October 16, 2006, the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

charged Crawford with lying and violating conflict-of-interest laws for falsely reporting his ownership of stock in companies regulated by the FDA. He falsely stated in a 2004 government filing that he and his wife sold their shares of

Sysco Sysco Corporation (short for Systems and Services Company) is an American multinational corporation involved in marketing and distributing food products, smallwares, kitchen equipment and tabletop items to restaurants, healthcare and education ...

and Kimberly-Clark, when in fact they continued to hold them, and also failed to disclose income from exercising

stock options In finance, an option is a contract which conveys to its owner, the ''holder'', the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying asset or instrument at a specified strike price on or before a specified da ...

in Embrex Inc.

Personal

Crawford has been married since 1963 to Catherine Walker of

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. They have two daughters, Leigh and Mary, and four grandchildren.

Notes

External links

Official biography
from the Food and Drug Administration
Federal campaign contributions
made by Lester Crawford * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Lester Mills 1938 births American government officials convicted of crimes Auburn University alumni Commissioners of the Food and Drug Administration Living people University of Georgia alumni People convicted of making false statements Place of birth missing (living people) George W. Bush administration personnel Members of the National Academy of Medicine