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Herman Ekern

American attorney and politician (1872–1954)

Herman Ekern
Ekern c. 1923
28th Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin
In office May 16, 1938 – January 2, 1939
Governor	Philip La Follette
Preceded by	Henry Gunderson
Succeeded by	Walter Samuel Goodland
25th Attorney General of Wisconsin
In office January 1, 1923 – January 3, 1927
Governor	John J. Blaine
Preceded by	William J. Morgan
Succeeded by	John W. Reynolds Sr.
8th Commissioner of Insurance of Wisconsin
In office January 2, 1911 – June 30, 1915
Governor	Francis E. McGovern Emanuel L. Philipp
Preceded by	George E. Beedle
Succeeded by	M. J. Cleary
42nd Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly
In office January 9, 1905 – January 4, 1909
Preceded by	Irvine Lenroot
Succeeded by	Levi H. Bancroft
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Trempealeau County district
In office January 5, 1903 – January 4, 1909
Preceded by	Eugene Clark
Succeeded by	Albert Twesme
Personal details
Born	Herman Louis Ekern (1872-12-27)December 27, 1872 Pigeon Falls, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died	December 4, 1954(1954-12-04) (aged 81) Dane, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Hill Cemetery, Madison, Wisconsin
Political party	Progressive Republican (before 1934)
Spouse	Lily C. Anderson
Children	Elsie Alvern (Fisher) (b. 1900; died 1998) Lila May (Ratcliff) (b. 1901; died 1990) John Harold Ekern (b. 1903; died 1998)
Relatives	Peder Ekern (uncle)
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin Law School
Known for	Co-founding Lutheran Brotherhood

Herman Louis Ekern (December 27, 1872 – December 4, 1954)^[1] was an American attorney and progressive Republican politician who served as the 28th lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, the 25th attorney general of Wisconsin, and the 42nd speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly. He was also one of the founders of Lutheran Brotherhood.^[2]

Background[edit]

Herman Louis Ekern was born in 1872 near Pigeon Falls, Wisconsin. He was the son of Even Ekern and Elizabeth (née Grimsrud) Ekern. He received a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1894. Following his graduation, he practiced law at Whitehall, Wisconsin in co-partnership with H. A. Anderson under the firm name of Anderson & Ekern.^[3]

Career[edit]

Five years later was elected district attorneyofTrempealeau County. He served three terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, from 1903 until 1907, and was the speaker of the Assembly in his final term.^[4] During his time in the Assembly, he was noted for helping design Wisconsin's life insurance code. From 1911 until 1915, he served as Wisconsin's insurance commissioner. Afterwards, he helped form a law partnership which specialized in insurance cases and helped write the Federal Soldiers' and Sailors' War Risk Insurance Act.^[5]

Lifelong Lutherans, Herman Ekern and J. A. O. Preus, Minnesota insurance commissioner and future Governor of Minnesota (1921–1925) had proposed launching a not-for-profit mutual aid society. The founding of Lutheran Brotherhood came as a result of the 1917 merger convention of the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America. In 1929, Herman Ekern became president in the organization which would grow in time to become Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.^[6]

Ekern later returned to his political career, serving as Wisconsin's Attorney General from 1923 until 1927. After Lieutenant Governor Henry Gunderson resigned in 1937, Governor Philip La Follette named Ekern Lieutenant Governor the following year. The appointment was challenged and upheld in State ex rel. Martin v. Ekern. After his term ended in 1939, Ekern served on the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin until 1943. Ekern later was in private law practice in Chicago and Madison.^[7]

In 1949, he received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the Alumni Association of the University of Wisconsin. Herman Ekern died in 1954. The papers of Herman Ekern are maintained within the archives of the Wisconsin Historical Society.^[8][9]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• Brøndal, Jørn. Ethnic Leadership and Midwestern Politics: Scandinavian Americans and the Progressive Movement in Wisconsin, 1890-1914. Northfield, Minn.: Norwegian-American Historical Association, 2004.

External links[edit]

• "Wisconsin Constitutional Officers; Lieutenant Governors" (PDF). State of Wisconsin Blue Book 2005–2006. Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. July 2005. p. 31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-10-25.