Ben Brancel (born July 31, 1950) is a retired American farmer and Republican politician from Marquette County, Wisconsin. He served as the 7th and 10th secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, during the administrations of governors Tommy Thompson and Scott Walker. Earlier, he was the 73rd speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, having served 10 years in the Assembly, representing the 42nd Assembly district.

Biography

Born in

Portage, Wisconsin Portage is a city in and the county seat of Columbia County, Wisconsin, Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 10,581 at the 2020 census making it the largest city in Columbia County. The city is part of the Madison, Wiscon ...

, Brancel graduated from the

University of Wisconsin–Platteville University of Wisconsin–Platteville (UW–Platteville or UW Platt) is a public university in Platteville, Wisconsin. Part of the University of Wisconsin System, it offers bachelor's and master's degrees. The university has three colleges tha ...

. Brancel served on the town board and board of education. Brancel managed a dairy operation for 22 years and now runs a 290-acre family farm with his wife, son, and daughter-in-law. From 1987 until 1997, he served in 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. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

representing District 42, and served as Speaker of the House. In 1997, Brancel resigned from the Wisconsin Assembly to serve as Wisconsin Secretary of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection in Governor Tommy Thompson's administration. He served in that capacity until 2001. In 2001, Brancel was appointed as director of the Wisconsin Farm Service Agency by the Bush Administration, where he served until early 2009. Later that year, he served as the part-time state relations liaison for the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

's College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. In January 2011, Brancel was appointed by Governor Scott Walker to serve as Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection Secretary once again.

References

1950 births Living people People from Portage, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Platteville alumni Speakers of the Wisconsin State Assembly Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly State cabinet secretaries of Wisconsin {{Wisconsin-WIAssembly-Republican-1950s-stub