Ron J. Henson is a public official in the state of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, currently serving as the First Assistant

Treasurer of Louisiana The Louisiana State Treasurer is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the state government of Louisiana responsible for overseeing the financial operations of state government. The state treasurer is an elected position, wi ...

Early life

Henson was born in

Searcy, Arkansas Searcy ( ) is the largest city and county seat of White County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2019 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 23,767. It is the principal city of the Searcy, AR Micropolitan Statistical Area ...

, and grew up in

El Dorado, Arkansas El Dorado, founded by Matthew Rainey, is a city in, and the county seat of, Union County, on the southern border of Arkansas, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 18,884. El Dorado is headquarters of the Ark ...

. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana and attended the University of Arkansas. He has also completed Executive Finance courses at the

Kellogg School of Management The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University (also known as Kellogg) is the business school of Northwestern University, a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1908, Kellogg is one of the oldest and most p ...

at Northwestern University in Illinois.

Early political career

He previously served for 17 years as

John Neely Kennedy John Neely Kennedy (born November 21, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Louisiana since 2017. He served as the Louisiana State Treasurer from 2000 to 2017. Kennedy has been a memb ...

’s first assistant state treasurer, where he managed a budget in excess of $10 million and more than 80 employees. Henson is a 40 plus year veteran of state government and has held a variety of positions including undersecretary for the Louisiana Department of Economic Development and Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. He was deputy chief of staff to Governor

Buddy Roemer Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III (October 4, 1943 – May 17, 2021) was an American politician, investor, and banker who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana from 1988 to 1992, and as a member of the United States House of Representatives fr ...

and served as special assistant to Lieutenant Governor

Melinda Schwegmann Melinda Burge Schwegmann (born October 25, 1946) is an American politician. She was the first woman to serve as Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana and was in office from 1992 to 1996. While in office, she was a proponent of the arts and culture in ...

. He served for 14 years in the Louisiana Legislative Fiscal Office. In 2014, Henson was the recipient of the prestigious Monte M. Lemann Award for his outstanding contributions to the civil service merit system. He has volunteered his time for numerous non-profit and governmental organizations including the National WWII Museum board of directors, the Gregory K. Burchell Memorial Scholarship Fund, and the Louisiana Business and Technology Center board.

Treasurer of Louisiana

Ron J. Henson was sworn in as the 23rd Treasurer of Louisiana on January 7, 2017, following Kennedy's election to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. A

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

was held on November 18, 2017. As treasurer, Henson oversaw nearly $5 billion in state investments; chairs the State Bond Commission; and returns millions of dollars in unclaimed property to Louisiana citizens.

References

External links

Date of birth missing (living people) Living people Louisiana Republicans Louisiana Tech University alumni People from Searcy, Arkansas People from El Dorado, Arkansas State treasurers of Louisiana University of Arkansas alumni Year of birth missing (living people) {{Louisiana-politician-stub