Lonna Hooks is the former Secretary of State of New Jersey

Secretary of State of New Jersey

The Secretary of State of New Jersey is responsible for overseeing artistic, cultural, and historical programs within the U.S. state of New Jersey, as well as volunteerism and community service projects within the state....

. She served for four years in the Cabinet of former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman

Christine Todd Whitman

Christine Todd "Christie" Whitman is an American Republican politician and author who served as the 50th Governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001, and was the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the administration of President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2003. She was New...

. Governor Whitman said that Secretary Hooks was her business ombudsman as secretary of state.

Prior to her appointment as Secretary of State, Hooks had been an attorney at Schering-Plough

Schering-Plough

Schering-Plough Corporation was a United States-based pharmaceutical company. It was founded in 1851 by Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering as Schering AG in Germany. In 1971, the Schering Corporation merged with Plough to form Schering-Plough. On November 4, 2009 Merck & Co...

, and had served under Whitman at the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities

New Jersey Board of Public Utilities

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities is a regulatory authority in New Jersey charged with the responsibility of seeing that "safe, adequate, and proper utility services are provided at reasonable rates for customers in New Jersey." The NJBPU regulates natural gas, electricity, water,...

 as her chief of staff. Whitman announced in December 1993 that she would nominate Hooks to serve as Secretary of State.

Hooks is a graduate of Howard University

Howard University

Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...

 and the Howard University School of Law

Howard University School of Law

Howard University School of Law is one of the professional graduate schools of Howard University. Located in Washington, D.C., it is one the oldest law schools in the country and the oldest historically black college or university law school in the United States...

. She has been a resident of Montclair, New Jersey

Montclair, New Jersey

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 38,977 people, 15,020 households, and 9,687 families residing in the township. The population density was 6,183.6 people per square mile . There were 15,531 housing units at an average density of 2,464.0 per square mile...

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