Walther reappointed to top post at Department of Finance and Administration
by December 28, 2022 2:13 pm 981 views
Gov.-elect Sarah Sanders announced Wednesday (Dec. 28) her intent to reappoint Larry Walther as the secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration. Walther also held a cabinet position with Sanders’ father, former Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Walther has held the post since January 2015 when appointed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson. He was first appointed to a government job in 2003 when appointed by then Gov. Huckabee as director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.
In 2008, Walther was tapped by the administration of President George W. Bush to work as director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. In 2011, Walther received a second presidential nomination when President Barack Obama nominated him to serve on the board of directors for the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
“Larry Walther has devotedly offered his talents and expertise to his state and country for almost two decades, and I am fortunate that he has agreed to remain as Secretary of our state’s Department of Finance and Administration,” Sanders said. “As Secretary, Larry has been an innovator at making government more efficient and available to our citizens, items that I applaud. He is going to be a critical partner in my efforts to make our state government lean and efficient and responsibly phase out the state income tax.”
He began in the private sector as an engineer with SBC Communications, now AT&T, and his job titles included vice president of Corporate Services and chairman of the SBC Foundation.
Walther, a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Monticello, is a member of board of trustees of the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo., and was board chairman between 2001 to 2007. In December 2010, he was elected Treasurer of the Republican Party of Arkansas. Walther has also been a member of the executive board for Quapaw Area Boy Scouts, Downtown Little Rock Rotary, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ BioVentures Advisory Board and Easter Seals Arkansas’ Board. He also is as a member of the University of Arkansas Walton School of Business Dean’s Executive Advisory Board.
“I am humbled by the Governor-elect’s confidence and look forward to continuing to serve the people of Arkansas, building on many of the reforms of the last eight years,” Walther said. “I’ve known Governor-elect Sanders a long time, and I know the promises she made during the campaign will be kept and implemented. Her vision to make our state one of the best to live, work, and raise a family is exciting, and I’m ready to get to work to see it achieved.”
Walther is the sixth cabinet nomination made by Gov.-elect Sanders. She has named Kristi Putnam as Secretary of the Department of Human Services; Mike Hagar as Secretary of Public Safety; Mike Mills as Secretary of Parks, Heritage and Tourism; Shane Khoury as Secretary of Energy & Environment; Wes Ward as Secretary of Agriculture; and Hugh McDonald as Secretary of Commerce.