Benjamin Solomon Carson Sr. (born September 18, 1951) is an American retired neurosurgeon, author, and politician who served as the 17th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2017 to 2021.

He was a candidate for President of the United States in the 2016 Republican primaries. He is considered a pioneer in the field of neurosurgery. Carson became the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in 1984 at age 33; he was the youngest chief of pediatric neurosurgery in the United States.