Heber Austin Ladner (October 4, 1902 – June 14, 1989) was the Secretary of State of Mississippi from 1948 to 1980.

Heber Austin Ladner was born on October 4, 1902, in Lumberton, Mississippi.

[1] Ladner started his political career as a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1936.

However, he was a defendant in suits brought by black people for school desegregation and proportional representation in county election boards.

He left office in January 1980, holding the record for longest-serving Secretary of State of Mississippi.