Carl Bledsoe

{{Short description|American politician}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Carl B. Bledsoe

| image =

| image_size =

| office = 49th Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives

| term_start = 1981

| term_end = 1991

| predecessor = Robert F. Burford

| successor = Chuck Berry{{cite web|title=Presidents and Speakers of the Colorado General Assembly|url=http://hermes.cde.state.co.us/drupal/islandora/object/co:10287/datastream/OBJ/view|publisher=Colorado Virtual Library|year=2013|accessdate=June 14, 2021}}

| office1 = Member of the Colorado House of Representatives

| district1 =

| term_start1 = 1973

| term_end1 = 1991

| birth_date = {{birth date|1923|10|6}}

| birth_place = Near Aroya, Colorado, US

| death_date = {{death date and age|2012|6|5|1923|10|6}}

| death_place = Aroya, Colorado, US

| party = Republican

| residence =

| spouse = {{marriage|Alice Elizabeth Cotellessa|1946}}

| children = 3

| religion =

| branch =

| alma_mater = University of Colorado Boulder
Colorado State University

| footnotes =

}}

Carl Beverly "Bev" Bledsoe (October 6, 1923 – June 5, 2012) was an American politician in the state of Colorado, representing the Eastern Plains counties of Colorado in the state House of Representatives. He served as Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives from 1981 to 1991, making the longest tenured speaker ever in the state's history.

Bledsoe was born on the Bledsoe Ranch, {{Convert|12|mi|km}} north of Aroya, Colorado, to Carl and Josie Bledsoe.{{Cite book |title=Cheyenne County History |publisher=Eastern Colorado Historical Society |year=1979 |edition=1st |location=Cheyenne Wells, Colorado |pages=114}} He attended public schools and graduated from Kit Carson High School. He attended the University of Colorado Boulder, he served in the United States Army in World War II, attaining the rank of sergeant. Upon his return, he studied for a Bachelor of Science degree in animal husbandry from Colorado State University and began ranching near Hugo.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uHqVYTkA08YC&pg=PA63 |title=American legislative leaders in the West, 1911-1994 | last1=Sharp | first1=Nancy Weatherly | first2=James Roger |last2=Sharp |publisher=Greenwood Press | location=Westport, Connecticut | year=1997 | ISBN=978-0-313-30212-1| accessdate=January 9, 2012}}

Prior to his election to the Colorado House of Representatives in 1973, Bledsoe sat on and chaired many county political, school, and veterinarian committees. He served nine consecutive terms in the house and led the legislative audit and finance committees. He retired in 1991. He died at his home in Hugo in 2012 at the age of 88.{{cite news |url=http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20792030/bev-bledsoe-longtime-colorado-house-speaker-dies-at |title=Bev Bledsoe, longtime Colorado House speaker, dies at age 88 |first=Lynn |last=Bartels |date=June 5, 2012 |publisher=Denver Post}}{{cite web |url=http://www.lovefuneralhomes.com/sitemaker/sites/LoveFu1/obit.cgi?user=647242Bledsoe |title=In Loving Memory of Bev |publisher=Memorial Networks |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304070421/http://www.lovefuneralhomes.com/sitemaker/sites/LoveFu1/obit.cgi?user=647242Bledsoe |archivedate=March 4, 2016 }}