John J. Ghezzi (January 1, 1911 – May 9, 1983 Albany,

Albany County, New York Albany County ( ) is a county in the state of New York, United States. Its northern border is formed by the Mohawk River, at its confluence with the Hudson River, which is to the east. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 3 ...

) was an American lawyer and politician.

Life

He was born in Albany, New York, on January 1, 1911 and was educated in the Albany Public School system. He graduated from Albany High school in 1928. He attended

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

and Albany Law School, and graduated, with honors, from

St. John's University School of Law St. John's University School of Law is a Roman Catholic law school in Jamaica, Queens, New York, United States, affiliated with St. John's University. The School of Law was founded in 1925, and confers Juris Doctor degrees and degrees for Maste ...

in 1933. He worked for the Louis Yaguda law firm after passing the bar exam. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on March 13, 1942 and was assigned to the 109th Infantry Regiment of the 28th Infantry Division. He was honorably discharged as a First Sergeant in October 1945 after serving 22 months in the European Theater of Operations. He entered state government service in 1949, serving as an unemployment insurance referee and an attorney in the corporations division of the Department of State until he was appointed Director of the State Elections and Law Bureau in 1959. He had been Deputy Secretary of State in charge of the Division of Corporations since 1965 when he was appointed

Secretary of State of New York The secretary of state of New York is a cabinet officer in the government of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York who leads the New York State Department of State, Department of State (NYSDOS). The current secretary of state of New York ...

by Governor Malcolm Wilson in 1974.

Sources

Obit in NYT on May 11, 1983

Military enlistment file, at National Archives 1911 births 1983 deaths Secretaries of state of New York (state) St. John's University School of Law alumni 20th-century American politicians {{NewYork-politician-stub