Herbert E Ellingwood

Herbert Eugene Ellingwood was an attorney whose career spanned local prosecution, state government, and service at the highest levels of the federal executive branch. Born March 5, 1931, in Ordway, Colorado, he earned his bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1953 and his law degree from Stanford University in 1960. He began his legal career as a deputy district attorney for Alameda County, California, from 1960 to 1966, and subsequently worked as a legislative advocate for the law and legislative committees of the District Attorneys' and Peace Officers' associations.

In 1969 he became Legal Affairs Secretary to California Governor Ronald Reagan, a post he held until 1974, and he later served as Special Assistant to the Attorney General of California under Evelle Younger. When Reagan reached the White House, Ellingwood was appointed Deputy Counsel to the President, and he went on to serve as Chairman of the United States Merit Systems Protection Board, the federal agency charged with safeguarding the merit-based civil service. He was admitted to practice before the bars of California, the District of Columbia, and Nevada.

Mr. Ellingwood was widely known as an advocate for religious liberty and for the involvement of people of faith in public life. He died on March 8, 1998, at the age of 67. His career of public service, from the county courthouse to the White House, is remembered among the members of the State Bar of Nevada.