Joe E. Kernan

Joseph Eugene "Joe" Kernan ( born April 8, 1946 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American politician. He was between 2003 and 2005 the 48th Governor of Indiana.

Early years and political rise

Joe Kernan attended St. Joseph High School in South Bend. Subsequently, he studied until 1968 at the University of Notre Dame government Sciences. In 1969, he joined the U.S. Navy and was employed on the aircraft carrier " Kitty Hawk" as a naval aviator. In May 1972 he was shot down during a reconnaissance flight over North Vietnam and came eleven months in captivity. Upon his release he remained until 1974 in the Navy. During the following years he worked for several companies in Indiana.

Kernans political career began in the town of South Bend. There he was between 1980 and 1984 Chamberlain. Between 1987 and 1995 he served as mayor of this municipality. In 1996 he was elected as a Democratic Party candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Indiana. In addition to this position he was until 2003 even commercial and Minister of Agriculture of Indiana. After the incumbent Governor Frank O'Bannon had suffered a stroke on 8 September 2003 during a visit to Chicago, Kernan was used as a Acting Governor; after the death of the Governor on September 13, he moved to his duties.

Governor of Indiana

Kernan was between 13 September 2003 and 1 January 2005, the Governor of Indiana. He ended the tenure of his deceased predecessor. Kernan did not see himself as the administrator of this item. He wanted to set a new course. With Kathy Davis, he appointed the first woman vice- governor of Indiana. He initiated a reform of government administration and exacerbated the ethical standards of government employees, to halt and to corruption. Kernan sat on a further improvement in the education system of the country. In November 2004, he was defeated in the gubernatorial elections the Republicans Mitch Daniels and therefore had to resign from his post in January 2005. Joe Kernan is married to Maggie McCoullough.