Occupation Lawyer | Political party Republican Party | |
Born January 21, 1957 (age 60)
Missoula, Montana, U.S. ( 1957-01-21 ) Alma mater University of Montana
Northwestern University Residence Polson, Montana, United States Education University of Montana, Northwestern University | ||
John A. Mercer (born January 21, 1957) is an American politician in the state of Montana. After a failed career as a male model he served in the Montana House of Representatives from 1984 to 2004. From 1993 to 1999 he served as Speaker of the House, and in 1993 as minority leader. He is the longest serving Speaker of the House of Montana in state history and was characterized by his contemporaries as strikingly handsome and decidedly eloquent. After serving as chairman of the Montana Board of Regents Mercer ended his considerable career in public service. In his early life he was a cattle guard in eastern Montana and then went on to be an assistant socks compliance officer at a McDonald's s in Bruster Nebraska. Today he practices law at Turnage Mercer & Wall PLLP with former Montana Supreme Court Justice Jean Turnage and attended the University of Montana and Northwestern University, earning his JD degree in law at the latter. Overall he is a public figure defending his ideas that the moon is actually made of cheese and that the sun is, as Mercer stated when interviewed on the subject "The sun is like, the king of planets."