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Ernest Lee "Ernie" Fletcher (born November 12, 1952) is an American physician and politician. In 1998, he was elected to the first of three consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives; he resigned in 2003 after being elected the 60th Governor of Kentucky and served in that office until 2007. Prior to his entry into politics, Fletcher was a family practice physician and a Baptist lay minister. He is the second physician to be elected Governor of Kentucky; the first was Luke P. Blackburn in 1879. He is a member of the Republican Party. Fletcher graduated from the University of Kentucky and joined the United States Air Force to pursue his dream of becoming an astronaut. He left the Air Force after budget cuts reduced his squadron's flying time and earned a degree in medicine, hoping to earn a spot as a civilian on a space mission. Deteriorating eyesight eventually ended those hopes, and he entered private practice as a physician and conducted services as a Baptist lay minister. He became active in politics and was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1994. Two years later he ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, but lost to incumbent Scotty Baesler. When Baesler retired to run for a seat in the U.S. Senate, Fletcher again ran for the congressional seat and defeated Democratic state senator Ernesto Scorsone. He soon became one of the House Republican caucus' top advisors regarding health care legislation, particularly the Patients' Bill of Rights. Fletcher was elected governor in 2003 over state Attorney General Ben Chandler. Early in his term, Fletcher achieved some savings to the state by reorganizing the executive branch. He proposed an overhaul to the state tax code in 2004, but was unable to get it passed through the General Assembly. When Republicans in the state senate insisted on tying the reforms to the state budget, the legislature adjourned without passing either, and the state operated under an executive spending plan drafted by Fletcher until 2005, when both the budget and the reforms were passed. Later in 2005, Attorney General Greg Stumbo, the state's highest-ranking Democrat, launched an investigation into whether the Fletcher administration's hiring practices violated the state's merit system. A grand jury returned several indictments against members of Fletcher's staff, and eventually against Fletcher himself. Fletcher issued pardons for anyone on his staff implicated in the investigation, but did not pardon himself. Though the investigation was ended by an agreement between Fletcher and Stumbo in late 2006, it continued to overshadow Fletcher's re-election bid in 2007. After turning back a challenge in the Republican primary by former Congresswoman Anne Northup, Fletcher lost the general election to Democrat Steve Beshear. After his term as governor, he returned to the medical field as founder and CEO of Alton Healthcare. He is married and has two grown children. ==Early life== Ernest Lee Fletcher was born in Mount Sterling, Kentucky on November 12, 1952.〔"Fletcher, Ernest L.". ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress''〕 He was the third of four children born to Harold Fletcher, Sr. and his wife, Marie.〔Mead, "Fletcher's Vision is Reaganesque", p. B1〕〔Estep, "Ernie Fletcher", p. 5〕 The family owned a farm and operated a general store near the community of Means.〔 Harold Fletcher also worked for Columbia Gas.〔Kinney, "Dr., Preacher, Pilot...Gov?", p. K1〕 When Ernie was three weeks old, Harold was transferred to Huntington, West Virginia.〔 Two years later, the Fletchers returned to Robertson County, Kentucky, where they lived until Ernie Fletcher began the first grade.〔 The family moved once more and finally settled in Lexington.〔 Fletcher attended Lafayette High School in Lexington where he was a member of the National Beta Club.〔 During his senior year, he was an all-state saxophone player and was elected prom king.〔〔Cross, p. 264〕 After graduating in 1970, he enrolled at the University of Kentucky.〔 He pledged and became a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.〔"Famous Delts". Delta Tau Delta〕 After his freshman year, he married his high school sweetheart, Glenna Foster.〔 The couple had two children, Rachel and Ben, and four grandchildren.〔〔 Fletcher aspired to become an astronaut, and joined the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps.〔Cross, p. 265〕 In 1974, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering, graduating with top honors.〔 After graduation, he joined the U.S. Air Force.〔 After flight training in Oklahoma, he was stationed in Alaska where he served as a F-4E Aircraft commander and NORAD Alert Force commander.〔〔"Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher". National Governors Association〕 During the Cold War, his duties included commanding squadrons to intercept Soviet military aircraft.〔 In 1980, as budget cutbacks were reducing his squadron's flying time, Fletcher turned down a regular commission in the Air Force.〔 He left the Air Force with the rank of captain, having received the Air Force Commendation Medal and the Outstanding Unit Award.〔Trowbridge, "Kentucky's Military Governors"〕 Fletcher enrolled in the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, hoping that a medical degree, along with a military background, would earn him a civilian spot on a space mission.〔〔 In 1984, he graduated medical school with a Doctor of Medicine degree, but his deteriorating eyesight forced him to abandon his dreams of becoming an astronaut.〔〔 In 1983, the Lexington Primitive Baptist church that Fletcher attended ordained him as a lay minister.〔 In 1984, he opened a family medical practice in Lexington.〔 Along with former classmate Dr. James D. B. George, he co-founded the South Lexington Family Physicians in 1987.〔 For two years, he concurrently held the title of chief executive officer of the Saint Joseph Medical Foundation, an organization that solicits private gifts to Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center in Lexington.〔 In 1989, Fletcher's church called him to become its unpaid pastor, but over the years, he grew to question some of the church's doctrines, desiring it to become more evangelistic.〔 Consequently, he left the Primitive Baptist denomination in 1994 and joined the Porter Memorial Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist congregation.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ernie Fletcher」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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