Michael Jackson Chaney (born January 6, 1944) is the Commissioner of Insurance for the

State of Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

since 2008. He served in the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected for ...

from 1993 to 1999 and in the

Mississippi State Senate The Mississippi State Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the Lower house, lower Mississippi House of Represen ...

from 2000 to 2008. Prior to his time in politics, he pursued business ventures in oil distribution, wood preservation, real estate, and other industries.

Early life and education

Michael Chaney was born in

Tupelo, Mississippi Tupelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1860, the population was 37,923 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, 7th-most populous ...

on January 6, 1944.Senate Resolution No. 32
A RESOLUTION TO COMMEND SENATOR MIKE CHANEY FOR HIS DISTINGUISHED SERVICE IN THE MISSISSIPPI SENATE, 2007 Session. He graduated from

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

in 1966 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in banking and finance. A businessman, Chaney founded an oil distribution business for convenience stores in Vicksburg in the 1970s, followed by ventures into the

wood preservation Wood preservation refers to any method or process, or even technique, used to protect the wood and extend its service life. Most wood species are susceptible to both biological (''biotic'') and non-biological (''abiotic'') factors that cause d ...

business in Kemper County and real estate. He also pursued business interests in utility companies, farming, and communications companies. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

as a sergeant in the Mississippi Reserve from 1968 to 1969.

Political career

State legislature Fred Thompson with Mississippi elected officials

A Republican, Chaney served in the

for the 54th district from 1993 to 1999. He ran to replace Ed Buelow, who had been appointed to the Mississippi Tax Commission. At the time of his campaign, he was the chairman of the Warren County Republican Executive Committee and had served in economic leadership roles in the local area. In 1999, he ran for election to the

for the 23rd district, facing off against Democrat Ken Harper, a former State Senator. During the campaign, he emphasized health care, taxation, education, law enforcement, and economic development issues. He won the election and served the district from 2000 to 2008. While in the senate, he served as chairman of the Education Committee and helped co-write the Mississippi Adequate Education Program. He took a role in reforming

building code A building code (also building control or building regulations) is a set of rules that specify the standards for construction objects such as buildings and non-building structures. Buildings must conform to the code to obtain planning permis ...

legislation and was appointed by

Amy Tuck Amy Tuck (born July 8, 1963) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 30th Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi from 2000 to 2008. A member of the Republican Party, she was previously a member of the Mississippi State Senate. She ...

to the Mississippi State Flag Commission. Insurance commissioner In

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, he ran for election to become the Mississippi Insurance Commissioner, where he faced off against primary candidate Ronnie English, and later Democratic Gary Anderson in the general election. During the election, he favored increasing competition among insurance companies and maintaining the elected status of the commissioner position. He was accused by Anderson for "cozying up to insurance companies," though Chaney rebuffed said claims. Chaney won the election 56.5% to 43.5%, becoming the first new commissioner since George Dale took office in 1976. Voter discontent towards insurance companies after

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

was considered to play a major role in his victory. Chaney also outraised Anderson significantly. He was sworn-in as

insurance commissioner An insurance commissioner (or commissioner of insurance) is a public official in the executive branch of a state or territory in the United States who, along with their office, regulate the insurance industry. The powers granted to the office of ...

on January 10, 2008. Chaney was re-elected in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

against Louis Fondren 62% to 34.7%. He ran unopposed in the general election in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

. He was re-elected in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

against Robert Amos 61.3% to 38.7%. He was re-elected in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

against Bruce Burton 59.3% to 40.7%.

Personal life

He is married to Mary Thurmond Chaney and has three children and eight grandchildren. He lives in

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 21,573 at the 2020 census. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vicksburg ...

. He is of

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

faith.

Electoral history

External links

Mississippi Insurance Department Website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaney, Mike 1944 births United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Living people Republican Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives Republican Party Mississippi state senators Mississippi State University alumni Politicians from Tupelo, Mississippi Politicians from Vicksburg, Mississippi State insurance commissioners of the United States United States Army soldiers 21st-century members of the Mississippi Legislature