Kentucky’s Justice Cabinet secretary, a longtime Beshear ally, will retire
Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Secretary Kerry Harvey will retire at the end of next month, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Thursday.
Harvey, 66, has been a longtime official at the state and federal levels, serving as general counsel to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services under the administration of former Gov. Steve Beshear, Andy Beshear’s father.
He later served as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky from 2010 to 2017. After Andy Beshear won the gubernatorial election in 2019, Harvey served as secretary of the Public Protection Cabinet. He then transitioned to the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet in 2021.
“We have been lucky to have Secretary Harvey, and this is his choice and his choice alone,” Beshear said. “He has been a tremendous asset to our team and he has taken every challenge head on. He has been a true public servant in so many different roles and he’s made Kentucky a better place to call home during his career.”
The retirement will be effective at the end of January.
Harvey’s cabinet is the second-largest cabinet in state government with more than 7,000 employees.
His retirement marks the second announced departure of a justice-related cabinet official. In November, Beshear announced Department of Juvenile Justice Commissioner Vicki Reed would resign.
“No one deserves retirement more than someone who from day one has worked for our people,” Beshear said.
This story was originally published December 7, 2023 at 1:45 PM.
