Press Releases
07/11/2022
MARK F. KOHLER BEGINS SERVING AS 74TH SECRETARY OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT
Retired associate attorney general, respected civil servant to serve through January
(HARTFORD, CT) – Today, Mark F. Kohler officially began serving as Connecticut’s 74th Secretary of the State. Secretary Kohler was appointed to the post by Governor Ned Lamont following the resignation of Denise Merrill, six months before the end of her third term, on June 30, 2022.
Former Secretary Merrill resigned for personal reasons. Justice Gregory D ’Auria administered the oath of office for Secretary Kohler on July 1 at the Connecticut Supreme Court. Shortly afterward, he swore in Deputy Secretary of the State Scott Bates, who had been serving in the same role under Secretary Merrill since 2017.
“I am deeply honored and humbled to be named by Governor Ned Lamont to serve out the remainder of this term and continue my public service on behalf of the people of the State of Connecticut,” Kohler said. “I have the utmost respect, appreciation, and admiration for the work Denise Merrill accomplished in this role, and I look forward to working with her dedicated team of professionals to ensure that our elections are carried out in an accessible, fair, and transparent manner.”
Secretary Kohler retired earlier this year from the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General after serving out a 30-year career as an associate and assistant attorney general, overseeing the Special Litigation Department.
Secretary Kohler earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul Minnesota, in 1982, a Master of Arts degree in political science from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, in 1984, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1987.
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