Larry Herke was appointed as the 18th Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) in January 2019. As Commissioner, Herke is charged with assisting the state's 308,000 Veterans and their families. He also represents the Department at hearings before the Minnesota Legislature and United States Congress, and maintains close working relationships with the Veterans' Service Organizations of Minnesota.
Commissioner Herke grew up in Mankato, attending Mankato East High School and Minnesota State at Mankato. After serving four years on active duty with his wife Debbie, also a Veteran, they returned to Minnesota.
For over 30 years Commissioner Herke had the opportunity to serve the nation and state as a member of the U.S. Army and Minnesota National Guard. During his military career he has met thousands of diverse and talented Service Members from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard and was constantly humbled by their selfless service and dedication to duty. Since retiring from the National Guard in 2016, Commissioner Herke was previously employed by the State of Minnesota as the Director of the Office of Enterprise Sustainability, assisting all 24 Cabinet Level agencies to develop sustainability plans to save money while reducing the impact of their operations on the environment and society.
The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs was established in 1943 and falls under Minnesota Statutes, Chapters 196, 197, 198; Minnesota Rules, Chapter 9050, Chapter 9055. Listed below are the MDVA Commissioners, starting with present commissioner, Larry Herke, to the first commissioner, William Revier.
The Minnesota Veterans Homes were merged with MDVA in 2007. For more information please visit the Veterans Homes history page.
