The labeling of certain presidential advisers as "czars" dates back to 1942, when the Washington Post commented on President Roosevelt's "executive orders creating new czars to control various aspects of our wartime economy" (see link). Richard Nixon was the first president to appoint a "czar" on his own (a "drug czar" in 1971), but it was his appointment of an "energy czar" during the 1973 energy crisis that really popularized the title. Subsequent presidents have declined to name their advisers "czars," but the term remains popular with the media because it's short, even though "special adviser to the president" may be a more accurate job title. President Obama may have chosen an unusually large number of advisers on specific issues, but it's the media that calls them czars.
Source(s):
http://www.slate.com/id/2207055/


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