Nelson Cruikshank

Who was Nelson Cruikshank?

Nelson Hale Cruikshank was known nationally in the United States as an expert on Social Security, Medicare and policy on aging. He was a Methodist minister, labor union activist and the first director of the Department of Social Security at the AFL-CIO before entering government service in his mid-60s.

Cruikshank is considered the most important non-legislator responsible for the enactment of Social Security Disability Insurance in 1956, which for the first time provided Social Security benefits to people with disabilities, and of Medicare in 1965. Later, as President Jimmy Carter's adviser and counselor on the aged and as chairman of the Federal Council on Aging, Cruikshank led successful efforts to preserve and expand Social Security benefits for the elderly and people with disabilities.