Edward Nager (July 22, 1927 - March 18, 2021) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and politician who served six terms as a Democratic member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

from

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Background

Nager was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on July 22, 1927. He graduated from that city's

Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science is a State school, public Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in the Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science ...

, served in the

Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

from 1945 to 1947, then earned a B.S. in

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

from the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

in 1950. He earned his

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

at the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a Public university, public research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 1868, the school is guided by a ...

in Madison in 1955 and went to work as an attorney. He worked as an Assistant

Dane County Dane County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin after Milwaukee County, Wiscon ...

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

from 1960 to 1962.

Public service

Nager was elected to the Assembly in 1962, succeeding fellow Democrat

Fred Risser Fred A. Risser (born May 5, 1927) is a retired American politician and attorney who served in the Wisconsin Legislature from 1957 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party from Madison, Wisconsin, Risser holds ...

, who was (successfully) seeking a seat in the

State Senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

. He was re-elected from 1964 to 1972 and served as a member of the Madison city planning commission from 1965 to 1968. He did not run for re-election in 1974 (he was succeeded by fellow Democrat

David Clarenbach David E. Clarenbach (born September 26, 1953) is a Wisconsin Democratic politician and gay activist who served nine terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly and as Speaker pro tempore for ten years. Early life and education Clarenbach was born ...

), choosing instead to run for

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

of Wisconsin. He came in fourth in a four-way

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

whose winner was

Bronson La Follette Bronson Cutting La Follette (February 2, 1936 – March 15, 2018) was an American Democratic lawyer and politician. He was the 36th and 39th Attorney General of the state of Wisconsin and was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Wisconsin ...

and which also included

Anthony Earl Anthony Scully Earl (April 12, 1936 – February 23, 2023) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician who served as the 41st governor of Wisconsin from 1983 until 1987. Prior to his election as governor, he served as secretary of the Wi ...

, later

Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's Wisconsin Army National Guard, army and Wisconsin Air National Guard, air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the ...

. His legislative papers are in the archives of the

Wisconsin Historical Society The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of ...

After the legislature

He continued to practice law in Madison, and in 2005 celebrated his 50th year as an attorney."50-year members honored at May convention" ''Inside the Bar'' (April 2005) Madison: State Bar of Wisconsin
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nager, Edward 1927 births 2021 deaths City College of New York alumni Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Politicians from Madison, Wisconsin Lawyers from New York City University of Wisconsin Law School alumni The Bronx High School of Science alumni United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Wisconsin lawyers Lawyers from Madison, Wisconsin 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature