Herbert James Hagerman

Herbert James Hagerman (December 15, 1871 – January 28, 1935) was an American attorney, was the 17th Governor of the New Mexico Territory from 1906 to 1907.

Hagerman was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to industrialist J. J. Hagerman. He worked at several low-level jobs in his father's businesses during his teen and college years, including his father's ranch near Roswell, New Mexico.

He received his law degree from Cornell Law School in 1894, and became a member of the Kappa Alpha Society. After passing the bar, he practiced law in Colorado, where he had moved in order to be closer to his father's mining interests.

Hagerman never married, and had no children.

In 1898 became Secretary to the United States Embassy in Russia, a position he held until 1901. Working closely with Ambassador Ethan A. Hitchcock, Hagerman impressed his boss with his abilities and his eagerness to stem waste and corruption. Hitchcock was recalled to Washington in 1899 to serve as Secretary of the Interior. Hagerman resumed practicing law and taking part in his father's New Mexico ranching interests. In 1903 he was appointed to New Mexico's Board of Managers for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, also known as the St. Louis World's Fair. He was an alternate delegate to the 1904 Republican National Convention.

In 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt was attempting to curb the political corruption which was rampant in New Mexico. Remembering Hagerman's abilities from his time in Russia, and aware of Hagerman's ties to New Mexico, Hitchcock suggested him as a candidate for Governor. Roosevelt appointed Hagerman on January 10, 1906.

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