Posted Friday, September 28, 2012 --- 9:05 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The head of Wisconsin's Department of Corrections is retiring after 45 years in public service.

Gov. Scott Walker appointed Gary Hamblin the DOC secretary last year. Walker's office released a statement Friday thanking Hamblin for his service and leadership.

Early in his career Hamblin was a deputy sheriff in Sawyer County. Then he spent 29 years as a special agent in the state Department of Justice.

Former Gov. Tommy Thompson appointed Hamblin sheriff of Dane County in 1997. He was re-elected as sheriff three times before retiring in 2007.

He didn't stay retired long. A month later, state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen asked him to help run the DOJ's Division of Law Enforcement Services. Hamblin remained in that role until Walker appointed him to lead the corrections department.

Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.