[1] Mark Hackel earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wayne State University in Criminal Justice, and joined the sheriff's department in Macomb County in 1981.

While working at the sheriff's department, he also received training at the FBI National Academy and the U.S. Secret Service's dignitary protection school.

Hackel has taught classes in criminal justice and leadership at Macomb Community College and Wayne State University.

Mark Hackel was one of 15 candidates to run in the primary on August 8, 2000, for the Democratic Party nomination for Macomb County Sheriff.

[3] In early 2007 Hackel and his office received national attention during their investigation of the homicide of Tara Grant, whose body was found dismembered.

[4] Grant was convicted of second-degree murder in his wife's death in December 2007[5] and was sentenced to 50 to 80 years in prison by Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Diane Druzinski in February 2008.

[8] Hackel resigned his position as sheriff on December 31, 2010, and took office as county executive for a four-year term starting on January 1, 2011.

[9] On December 7, 2010, Hackel named Mark Deldin, Chippewa Valley Schools Superintendent, as his deputy county executive.

[10] In November 2014, Hackel defeated Republican David Novak to win a second-term as county executive, taking 69 percent of almost 260,000 votes.

[12] During Michigan's gubernatorial election in 2014, Hackel originally said that he would stay neutral, rather than endorsing the presumptive Democratic nominee, former US Congressman Mark Schauer.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Hackel expressed support for a citizen-backed initiative to repeal a 1945 law that gave Democratic Gov.