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Yesterday, the New York Times noted the passing of a truly impressive civil servant: William H. Stewart, who served as surgeon general in the Johnson administration. That was at a time, the paper noted, that the position was very different than it is now -- for example, it involved day-to-day oversight of the Public Health Service.

Stewart, who had joined the PHS in 1951, pressed for the integration of the agency as surgeon general, and used the then-new Medicare program as a wedge to force hospitals around the country to integrate, too. On top of that, he was responsible for the first health warnings on cigarette packs.

As Stewart's official biography indicates, he led PHS at a time of "dramatic changes" leading to "cycles of administrative upheaval." That included two major structural reorganizations during an "era characterized by ... complicated bureaucratic maneuvering, increased public involvement, and renewed efforts to control federal health expenditures." Stewart resigned his post midway through President Nixon's first year in office.

David Walker, who left the Government Accountability Office in March to head the Peter G. Peterson foundation, has another new gig: The Partnership for Public Service has announced that Walker is joining the organization's board of directors. He joins other prominent ex-federal officials on the board, including former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig and former NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe.

(Hat tip: Fedsmith.)

The Veterans Affairs Department is looking for a new undersecretary for benefits. But VA officials can't pick just anybody. By law, VA Secretary James B. Peake must appoint a commission to come up with a slate of non-political candidates for the position. Their names are then forwarded to the president, along with any recommendations the VA chief himself has.

The 10-member commission will be led by VA Deputy Secretary Gordon Mansfield.

The new undersecretary will replace retired Navy Vice Adm. Daniel L. Cooper, who announced his resignation as undersecretary for benefits recently after six years on the job. That's longer than any previous holder of the position.

It looks like Marta Perez, the top personnel person at the Homeland Security Department, is out, at a time when the department is struggling to integrate its operations, overhaul its proposed personnel reforms and deal with morale problems.

Here's the press release from DHS headquarters:

STATEMENT BY HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY MICHAEL CHERTOFF ON THE RESIGNATION OF THE CHIEF HUMAN CAPITAL OFFICER

Chief Human Capital Officer Marta Perez has announced her departure from the department effective Jan. 6, 2008. Marta’s knowledge and experience in developing and managing personnel systems has helped to make the department a model in human capital service for the federal government.

Marta set plans in motion that will ensure the department hires and retains a talented and diverse workforce. She led the way to create a department-wide culture of performance, and established high-quality learning and development programs. Under Marta’s direction, we implemented a department-wide integrated leadership system. Although Marta will be leaving soon, she leaves in place a strong transition plan and team that will carry the department through 2009 – and beyond.

I am grateful for Marta’s service and dedication to the federal government, and thank her for her contributions to America’s security. I will miss Marta personally and professionally, and wish her well in her future endeavors.

Embattled Minnesota U.S. Attorney Rachel Paulose -- whose 20-month tenure was marked by sharp disagreements with her staff and the resignations of several top officials -- is on the way out. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Paulose announced yesterday that she will be returning to Washington to take a job at Justice Department headquarters.

Paulose had been caught up in this year's controversy over the Justice Department's handling of U.S. attorneys, largely because of her friendship with key Alberto Gonzales aide Monica Goodling. But the main problem seems to be that she couldn't win the support of career attorneys in her office.

The Washington Post quotes an anonymous source "familiar with the decision" as saying Paulose "has come to realize, and the new attorney general and others, that management was a challenge for her there. She felt it was best for her office for her to . . . get out of this management position and into a place where she could excel."

Still unclear is what will happen to the Office of Special Counsel investigation into allegations that Paulose mishandled classified information and retaliated against career employees who challenged her management style.

NASA's getting a new No. 3. The agency's associate administrator, Rex Geveden, announced Wednesday that he's leaving the agency at the end of the month to join Teledyne Technologies. He'll be succeeded by Christopher Scolese, who currently is NASA's chief engineer. Scolese has been with the agency since 1987, and previously has served as deputy director of the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and deputy associate administrator in the agency's Office of Space Science.

President Bush announced yesterday that he would nominate Stuart Ishimaru to serve another five-year term on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Apparently the fact that Ishimaru, a Democrat, was a vocal opponent of the commission's 2005 reorganization effort didn't stand in the way of his renomination.

The General Services Administration announced yesterday that Tony Reed has taken over as regional administrator of the agency's National Capital Region as of this week. There he'll oversee 93 million square feet of office space in more than 880 government-owned and leased facilities housing nearly 300,000 federal workers. Before joining GSA Reed was assistant secretary of the Maryland Department of General Services.

GSA also announced that Leslie L. Plomondon has taken over as head of the agency's Rocky Mountain Region. She'll oversee 615 buildings housing almost 50,000 workers in Colorado, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, and North and South Dakota.

Congratulations to Harry K. Thomas Jr., whom President Bush has tapped to be director general of the Foreign Service. Thomas, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, is now a special assistant to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Before that, he was ambassador to Bangladesh and, earlier in his career, director of the National Security Council.

NASA officials have found somebody to run the agency's new Office of the Chief Scientist. And they didn't have to look far: It's John Mather, who's currently at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., heading the Cosmic Background Explorer Mission. Mather's certainly qualified for his new post: He and George Smoot of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory won the Nobel Prize for physics last year for their work in explaining the Big Bang. In his new job, Mather will set mission and research budget priorities for all NASA science programs.