Mark F. Kohler (born July 30, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 74th

Secretary of the State of Connecticut The secretary of the State of Connecticut is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Connecticut. (The definite article is part of the legal job title.) It is an elected position in the state government and has a term length of fou ...

from July 1, 2022, when he was appointed by Governor

Ned Lamont Edward Miner Lamont Jr. (born January 3, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 89th governor of Connecticut. He has served in this position since January 9, 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a Greenw ...

to fill the vacancy created by previous secretary Denise Merrill's resignation, until the end of the term in January 2023. He previously served as an associate attorney general in the Office of the Connecticut Attorney General and as a member of the Town of Woodbridge Zoning Board of Appeals.

Education

Kohler graduated from the University of St. Thomas (then known as the College of St. Thomas) with his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in 1982. He then earned his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...

in Political Science from

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship campus of Indiana University and, with over 40,000 students, its largest camp ...

in 1984, followed by his

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 Connecticut School of Law The University of Connecticut School of Law (UConn Law) is the law school associated with the University of Connecticut and located in Hartford, Connecticut. It is the only public law school in Connecticut and one of only four in New England. In ...

in 1987.

Career

Early Career and Connecticut Attorney General's Office

Kohler was an associate attorney with the law firm Shipman & Goodwin for two years, from 1990 until 1992. Afterwards, he joined the

Connecticut Attorney General The Connecticut Attorney General is the state attorney general of Connecticut. The Attorney General is elected to a four-year term. According to state statute, eligibility for the office requires being "an attorney at law of at least ten years' ...

's Office, where he served for 30 years under attorneys general

Richard Blumenthal Richard Blumenthal (; born February 13, 1946) is an American lawyer and politician who is the senior United States senator from Connecticut, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he is one of the wealthiest members of ...

George Jepsen George Christian Jepsen
December 17, 1989, ''The New York Times'' (born N ...

, and

William Tong William Morten Tong (born May 2, 1973) is an American lawyer and politician who is the 25th and current Attorney General of Connecticut. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Tong attended Brown University and the University of Chicago Law School. He ...

. At different points during his tenure, Kohler served as head of the finance department, public utilities unit, and the special litigation department. He also served on the Zoning Board of Appeals in

Woodbridge, Connecticut Woodbridge is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 9,087 at the 2020 census. The town center is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Woodbridge Green Historic District. Woodbridge is part of ...

for three years, between 2006 and 2009.

Secretary of the State of Connecticut

Shortly after retiring in early 2022, Kohler was appointed

by Governor

when retiring incumbent Denise Merrill resigned June 30, six months before the expiration of her term. He was sworn in the next day. He was not a candidate in the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

for the office in November 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kohler, Mark 1960 births 21st-century American lawyers Indiana University alumni Living people People from Woodbridge, Connecticut Secretaries of the State of Connecticut University of Connecticut School of Law alumni University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) alumni