Bremer Ehrler (July 10, 1914 – February 9, 2013) was an American politician who served as

Jefferson County Judge/Executive The Jefferson County Judge/Executive is the nominal chief executive of Jefferson County, Kentucky. On January 3, 2003, the county government merged with that of its largest city, Louisville, to create the Louisville Metro Government. The former p ...

and

secretary of state of Kentucky The secretary of state of Kentucky is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is now an elected office, but was an appointed office prior to 1891. The current secretary of state is Republican Michael Adams, who was ...

Early life and education

Ehrler was born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. As a child, he worked on his family's dairy farm. He graduated from

DuPont Manual High School duPont Manual High School is a public magnet high school located in the Old Louisville neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It serves students in grades 9– 12. It is a part of the Jefferson County Public School District. DuPo ...

in 1931.

Career

Ehrler joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

in 1942 and served until 1968, retiring as a lieutenant colonel. Ehrler worked for the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

for 37 years. Ehrler served as postmaster of

in the 1960s, and was elected to a term as

Kentucky secretary of state The secretary of state of Kentucky is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is now an elected office, but was an appointed office prior to 1891. The current secretary of state is Republican Michael Adams, who wa ...

(1988–1992). He later served as appointed Jefferson County sheriff in 1993. Ehrler was appointed

by Governor

Martha Layne Collins Martha Layne Collins (née Hall; born December 7, 1936) is an American former businesswoman and politician from the Commonwealth of Kentucky; she was elected as the state's 56th governor from 1983 to 1987, the first woman to hold the office and ...

on December 21, 1984, to fill the vacancy left by Mitch McConnell after McConnell'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 ...

. Ehrler served in that post until January 6, 1986. He did not seek election to a second term, opting instead to run for secretary of state in 1987, the year after he left office.

References

1914 births 2013 deaths Politicians from Louisville, Kentucky DuPont Manual High School alumni Secretaries of State of Kentucky Kentucky sheriffs Kentucky Democrats Kentucky postmasters County judges in Kentucky {{Louisville-stub