Mike Turpen

Mike Turpen
Member of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
Assumed office
2009
Preceded by Cheryl P. Hunter
13th Attorney General of Oklahoma
In office
1983–1987
Preceded by Jan Eric Cartwright
Succeeded by Robert Harlan Henry
District Attorney for Muskogee County, Oklahoma
In office
1977–1983
Succeeded by Drew Edmondson
Personal details
Born (1949-11-10) November 10, 1949
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Susan Turpen
Children Sean, Patrick and Sarah
Residence Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Alma mater University of Tulsa
TU College of Law

Michael Craig "Mike" Turpen (born November 10, 1949)[1] is an American lawyer and politician from Oklahoma. A member of the Democratic Party, Turpen served as the Chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party and as the Attorney General of Oklahoma from 1983 to 1987. After leaving the Attorney General's Office, Turpen entered private practice.

Turpen was appointed by Governor of Oklahoma Brad Henry in 2009 to serve as member of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. Turpen's nine-year term will expire in May 2018.

Biography

Mike Turpen was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he attended Tulsa Public Schools. After high school, Turpen attended and graduated from the University of Tulsa, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in history in 1972. In 1974, he received his Juris Doctorate Degree from the University of Tulsa College of Law. Following law school, Turpen moved to Muskogee, Oklahoma, where he joined the Muskogee Police Department as the Police Legal Advisor. He then joined the Muskogee County District Attorney's Office where he would serve as the Chief Prosecutor and then as the First Assistant District Attorney. In 1976, Turpen was elected, as a Democrat, as the District Attorney for Muskogee County. He served in that position until 1983.

In 1982, Turpen became the Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Oklahoma. Turpen defeated his Republican opponent and entered office in 1983. He served in that position until 1987 when he declined to seek reelection in order to run for Governor of Oklahoma in 1986. Though initially considered the front runner in the race to seek the Democratic Party's nomination, Turpen ultimately lost the nomination to darkhorse candidate David Walters. Walters, in turn, was defeated by former Republican Governor Henry Bellmon.

Since leaving public service in 1987, Turpen has been a partner in the law firm of Riggs, Abney, Neal, Turpen, Orbison and Lewis in Oklahoma City. In 2009, Turpen was appointed by Democratic Governor of Oklahoma Brad Henry to serve as member of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. Turpen's nine-year term will expire in May 2018.

2010 Oklahoma Hall of Fame inductees are: Kristin Chenoweth, Broken Arrow; Robert A. Hefner, III, Oklahoma City; Edward Keller, Tulsa; Judy Love, Oklahoma City; Michael C. Turpen, Oklahoma City; and Lew O. Ward, III, Enid. The honorees will be formally inducted to the Hall on Nov. 4 at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City. Also in November, their portraits will be added to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame Gallery at the Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum. Their biographies, photos and fun facts will be accessed through touch screen computers in the same gallery.[2]

References

  1. Oklahoma. State Election Board (1985). Directory of Oklahoma. State Election Board. ISSN 0095-0920. Retrieved 2015-03-24.
  2. "Inductees". oklahomaheritage.com. Retrieved 2015-03-24.
Political offices
Preceded by
District Attorney for Muskogee County, Oklahoma
1977–1983
Succeeded by
Drew Edmondson
Preceded by
Jan Eric Cartwright
Attorney General of Oklahoma
1983–1987
Succeeded by
Robert Harlan Henry
Preceded by
Cheryl P. Hunter
Member of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
2009–present
Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by
Jan Eric Cartwright
Democratic nominee for Attorney General of Oklahoma
1982
Succeeded by
Robert Harlan Henry
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