Sherman A. Bernard
| Sherman Albert Bernard, Sr. | |
|---|---|
Bernard in his later years
|
|
| Louisiana Insurance Commissioner | |
|
In office 1972–1988 |
|
| Preceded by | Dudley A. Guglielmo |
| Succeeded by | Douglas D. "Doug" Green |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
June 10, 1925 Schriever, Terrebonne Parish Louisiana, USA |
| Died | May 11, 2012 (aged 86) Marrero, Jefferson Parish Louisiana, USA |
| Resting place | Garden of Memories in Marrero |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Julia Speranza Bernard (deceased) |
| Children |
Sherman A. Bernard, Jr. |
| Residence | Marrero, Louisiana |
| Alma mater | (Houma, Louisiana) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | United States Marine Corps |
Sherman A. Bernard, Jr.
Dale Bernard
Dennis Bernard (deceased)
Linda Bernard Zimmerman
Deanna Bernard
Victor Bernard
Sherman Albert Bernard, Sr. (June 10, 1925 – May 11, 2012), was a businessman from Jefferson Parish in the New Orleans suburbs, who served from 1972 to 1988 as the Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance. He is mainly remembered for having served forty-one months in federal prison after he pleaded guilty in federal court to extortion in connection with his job duties.
Bernard was born in Schriever in Terrebonne Parish in south Louisiana, one of two sons and seven daughters of Thomas Joseph Bernard (1881-1947) and the former Helen Lucille Orillion (1886-1975), a native of Lafourche Parish. His brother, Andrew Bernard, Sr., died in 1952 at the age of thirty-two. Bernard graduated from Terrebonne High School in Houma in Terrebonne Parish. He served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. Early in his career he was an officer of the Louisiana State Police. At the time he entered the race for state insurance commissioner, Bernard was in the house moving, trucking, and construction business in Westwego on the West Bank of the Mississippi River in Jefferson Parish.
In 1968, Bernard was elected to the Louisiana Democratic State Central Committee. In December 1971, he upset Insurance Commissioner Dudley A. Guglielmo of Baton Rouge in the Democratic runoff election. On February 1, 1972, he defeated the Republican nominee, W. G. "Billy" Haynes of West Monroe in northeastern Louisiana. Bernard polled 723,681 votes (73.2 percent) to Haynes' 265,056 (26.8 percent). Bernard won sixty-three parishes, having lost only in Haynes' Ouachita Parish, where he still polled 49.5 percent of the vote. In that same election, the Democrat Edwin Edwards, then of Crowley in Acadia Parish, defeated Republican gubernatorial nominee David C. Treen, then of Jefferson Parish
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