A fourth generation Choctaw countian, Ray Mabus grew up in Ackerman. In 1987 he was elected governor, the youngest in more than 150 years. Appointed Secretary of the Navy in 2009, he served until 2017, the longest tenure since WWI and the third longest in U.S. history. It was on his watch that the Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden. Mabus also named a ship the USNS Choctaw County and chose all twenty nine women in his Ackerman High class of 1966 as sponsors. He also served as ambassador to Saudi Arabia and as state auditor.