The World's 50 Greatest Leaders

Rank

Anthony Fauci

President Obama Speaks At The Nat'l Institute Of Health On Fight Against Ebola

BETHESDA, MD - DECEMBER 02: U.S. President Barack Obama (R) listens to Director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci (3rd L) as Chief of the Biodefense Research Section Nancy Sullivan (L) and Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell (2nd L) look on as he tours the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institutes of Health December 2, 2014 in Bethesda, Maryland. President Obama visited the facility to discuss the ongoing fight against Ebola. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)Photograph by Alex Wong — Getty Images

Title
Director
Affiliation
NIAID (NIH)

When the Ebola crisis hit last year, the government (and the media) turned once again to Anthony Fauci, who has become America’s doctor. Over the past 31 years, Fauci, who has made seminal contributions to our understanding of HIV, has headed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and put its nearly $4.5 billion annual budget to good use, helping find ways to better treat and prevent infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases. He has pioneered the development of therapies that extend the lives of those living with HIV/AIDS and pushed for a vaccine to prevent the infection—work that has earned him 38 honorary doctoral degrees from universities around the world, the National Medal of Science, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Editor's note: Anthony Fauci ranks No. 5 on the 2020 World's Greatest Leaders: Heroes of the pandemic edition of the list.