Benge named Fallin’s Native American liaison

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Oklahoma Secretary of State Chris Benge has been named Gov. Mary Fallin’s Native American liaison.

Fallin made the appointment Monday in an executive order in which she established her cabinet for her second four-year term.

Benge, a member of the Cherokee Nation, will serve as secretary of state and Native American affairs. He succeeds Jacque Secondine Hensley, who had advised the governor on American Indian affairs since July 2012. Hensley has accepted a position with the Department of Human Services, where she will work on Native American issues.

Fallin tapped Benge to be secretary of state in November 2013. He served as speaker of the Oklahoma House from 2008 until he was term-limited as a legislator in 2010. He also served as chairman of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee.