Jerold A. Bonnet is an American attorney who served as interim

Secretary of State of Indiana The Secretary of State of Indiana is one of five constitutional officers originally designated in Indiana's State Constitution of 1816. Since 1851, it has been an elected position. The Secretary of State oversees four divisions, and is the third ...

in 2012. Bonnet was the deputy Secretary when his superior Charlie White lost his position after being convicted of voter fraud, leading Governor

Mitch Daniels Mitchell Elias Daniels Jr. (born April 7, 1949) is an American academic administrator, businessman, author, and retired politician. A Republican, Daniels served as the 49th governor of Indiana from 2005 to 2013. Since 2013, Daniels has been p ...

to appoint Bonnet as White's interim successor on February 4, 2012. After a month in office, Bonnet was succeeded by

Connie Lawson Connie Lawson (born April 20, 1949) is an American politician. A Republican, Lawson was Indiana Secretary of State from 2012 to 2022 and was a member of the Indiana Senate from 1996 to 2012. While in the state senate, she was Republican floor ...

on March 16. Currently, Bonnet serves as the chief legal counsel in Lawson's administration.

Early life and education

After graduating from Yorktown High School, Bonnet earned a BA from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. * Indiana Univers ...

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

, an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

from the

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the University of Louisiana System and the Urban 13 association. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High resea ...

, and a Masters in International Business and Finance from the

University of Texas at Dallas The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD or UT Dallas) is a public research university in Richardson, Texas. It is one of the largest public universities in the Dallas area and the northernmost institution of the University of Texas system. It wa ...

Career

Spending eighteen years practicing commercial law in Texas and Louisiana, Bonnet settled in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

When Hurricane Katrina hit, Bonnet and his family evacuated to Indianapolis. Having relatives there, he intended the move to be "temporary", and became the interim chief counsel in the office of then-Secretary of State

Todd Rokita Theodore Edward Rokita (born February 9, 1970) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 44th and current Attorney General of Indiana. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from from 2011 to 2019. A membe ...

on November 15, 2005. Nevertheless, the appointment became permanent. Whilst counsel, Bonnet helped implement the state's new photo ID law, as well as the Help America Vote Act. During the 2007 to 2010 primary and general election seasons, he served as the state's coordinator of polling day monitoring. In 2009, for his work in representing victims of domestic violence, he was honored by the Indiana Protective Order Pro-Bono Project. Originally the deputy Secretary of State for parts of 2008 and 2009, Secretary of State Charlie White appointed Bonnet again to be second-in-command, as well as chief of staff, on March 14, 2011. At the time, Bonnet was on the Comprehensive

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immu ...

Services Planning and Advisory Council, and the Indiana Code Revision Commission. On the eve of his ascension to the secretaryship, he was working on a doctorate in organizational leadership at

Indiana Wesleyan University Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) is a Private university, private evangelical Christian university headquartered in Marion, Indiana, and affiliated with the Wesleyan Church. It is the largest private university in Indiana. The university system ...

Secretary of State

On February 4, 2012, White was removed from office after being convicted of voter fraud. Governor

proceeded to appoint Bonnet to the post on an interim basis, pending the chance White's conviction was downgraded to a misdemeanor, or otherwise until Daniels made a permanent appointment. After his appointment, Bonnet was identified as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

. Around three weeks later, White's felony conviction was upheld, though succession continued to be delayed by a legal challenge from White's Democratic opponent in the secretaryship election of 2010, arguing he should assume the office. This challenge was dismissed on March 15. With Daniels now free to choose, some speculation arose that Bonnet could carry on fully, with a commentator in ''

The Indianapolis Star ''The Indianapolis Star'' (also known as ''IndyStar'') is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, when the '' Indiana ...

'' arguing he would be the least political choice and noting the governor's praise of Bonnet's performance, though others argued his lack of political experience would make him an unlikely selection, and Bonnet made no public suggestion he desired to retain the position. The following day, state senator

succeeded Bonnet. Upon Lawson's appointment as secretary, Bonnet's duties as deputy secretary and chief of staff were conferred to Davey Neal. He now serves as chief legal counsel within Lawson's administration.

Personal life

Bonnet is married with three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonnet, Jerry Indiana Republicans Living people Secretaries of State of Indiana Year of birth missing (living people) Indiana University alumni Indiana Wesleyan University alumni University of Texas at Dallas alumni University of New Orleans alumni University of Tennessee alumni Indiana lawyers Louisiana lawyers Texas lawyers