- Ben Meier
Infobox Politician
name = Ben Meier
imagesize = 200px
caption =
order = 12th
office = North Dakota Secretary of State
term_start =January 1 ,1955
term_end =December 31 ,1988
predecessor = Thomas Hall
successor =Jim Kusler
birth_date =August 1 ,1918
birth_place =Napoleon, North Dakota
death_date =October 2 ,1995
death_place =Bismarck, North Dakota
party = RepublicanBen Meier (
August 1 ,1918 -October 2 ,1995 ) was aNorth Dakota Republican Party politician who served as the Secretary of State ofNorth Dakota for a record tenure of 34 years fromJanuary 1 ,1955 toDecember 31 ,1988 . [ [http://www.nd.gov/sos/about/history.html North Dakota Secretary of State | About the Secretary of State ] ] This tenure makes him the longest serving state levelSecretary of State inUnited States history.Bill Gardner ofNew Hampshire , who has served for nearly 31 years and is still serving as of 2007, could surpass Meier's record if he is still in office onDecember 9 ,2010 .Biography
Ben Meier was born in
Napoleon, North Dakota on August 1, 1918. He was educated in Logan County rural school, and he received his high school education by correspondence. He attended Dakota Business College, and the School of Banking of theUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison . He worked at banks in Napoleon, Gackle, and Hazelton from 1943 until 1950. While working in Hazelton, he was the owner of the bank. He moved to Bismarck in the early 1950s and worked with insurance, banking, and real estate. He also became involved in state politics when he was first elected as theNorth Dakota Secretary of State in 1954. Until his departure from office on December 31, 1988, he served a total of 34 years in the position which made him the longest serving state official in North Dakota's history. This record was later broken by Bruce Hagen, who served 39 years as aNorth Dakota Public Service Commissioner . His tenure made him the longest serving state levelSecretary of State inUnited States history.He was married to Clara Kaczyinski in 1944, who was a teacher. [North Dakota Blue Book, 1988] They had two sons; Lynn, who died while a medical student at the
University of North Dakota in 1974, and Bernie. Meier died in Bismarck on October 2, 1995 at age 77, and his wife Clara is still residing in BismarckNotes
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