John C. Wobensmith

John Wobensmith
71st Secretary of State of Maryland
Incumbent
Assumed office January 21, 2015 Acting: January 21, 2015 – February 13, 2015
Governor	Larry Hogan
Preceded by	John McDonough
Personal details
Political party	Republican
Children	John
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania

John C. Wobensmith is an American politician from Maryland. He has served as the 71st Secretary of State of Maryland – a position appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state senate – since January 21, 2015. The Secretary of State is one of the state's six constitutional officers, along with the Governor, Lt. Governor, Comptroller, Attorney General and Treasurer.

Prior career

Wobensmith worked for four decades in national security under U.S. presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton;^[1] and served as the senior Defense Department representative in Turkey.^[2]

Wobensmith served on the Anne Arundel County Board of Education for nine years,^[1] and after retirement from federal civilian employment was vice president for International Marketing for Sensys Technologies in London,^[2] and worked for the American Foreign Policy Council.^[3]

Wobensmith served as the treasurer for the Hogan-Rutherford 2014 gubernatorial election campaign and was a member of Hogan's transition team.^[1][3]

Maryland Secretary of State

Governor-elect Larry Hogan announced the appointment of Wobensmith as Secretary of State of Maryland on December 30, 2014.^[4] As Secretary of State, Wobensmith oversees the registration of notaries and charitable organizations and serves as the Governor's liaison for labor relations. He serves as the chair of the Governor's Subcabinet for International Affairs and is on the Board of State Canvassers.

References

1. Bauer-Wolf, Jeremy (January 1, 2015). "Hogan appoints Owings to cabinet". The Gazette. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
2. "Gov.-elect Larry Hogan selects familar [sic] faces for cabinet nominees". WMAR-TV. December 30, 2014. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
3. Cox, Erin (December 30, 2014). "Hogan appoints four more Cabinet members". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
4. "Hogan appointments". Cumberland Times-News. Associated Press (photo). January 13, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2015. Hogan names four people to key posts in his administration on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014 ... John Wobensmith (far right) was appointed secretary of state. The appointments require state Senate confirmation.