Emigrated to the US from India when she was 21 years old.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Nandita Berry has been appointed as the 109th Secretary of State of Texas, by the state’s governor Rick Perry.
Berry, who is the first Indian American to ever be appointed to that post in the state’s history, will assume her new position on January 7, taking over from current Secretary of State John Steen.
In a statement announcing Berry’s appointment, Gov. Perry said that she “personifies what is possible through hard work and dedication in the State of Texas.”
A lawyer by profession, Berry came to the US when she was just 21 years old and, as Perry puts it, “with nothing but $200 to her name.” She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston, and earned her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center.
In addition to being a member of the State Bar of Texas and the Houston Bar Association, she is a senior counsel at the law firm of Locke Lord LLP. She is the wife of Houston-based Conservative talk radio host Michael Berry.
As the Secretary of State of Texas, she will be responsible for overseeing affairs on the Texan border with Mexico, acting as the Chief Protocol Officer for the state’s affairs with other states within the US as well as with other nations, and will also be the state’s Chief Election Officer.
Additionally, her office acts as the holding place for all official and business records in the entire state of Texas, which is the third-largest in the US by land area and the second most populous. Berry’s office will also publish all legal regulations and rules for constituents within the state, and can sign for and seal documents on the governor’s behalf.
“This great honor proves once again Texas is the land of opportunity, both in the private sector and public service,” said Berry in a statement
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com