Manatee County resident and former Florida Speaker of the House Ralph Haben passed away Saturday, June 13, 2026, while in hospice care. He was 84. Haben served as the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives from 1980 to 1982.
Haben graduated from Palmetto High School and went on to earn an Education degree from the University of Florida in 1964. He later received his Juris Doctor from Cumberland School of Law.
After graduating from law school, Haben worked as an aide to Bradenton Senator Wilbur Boyd and served as a municipal judge prior to being elected to the House. Among his many accomplishments, Haben secured the funding for the Manatee County Civic Center, which was built in 1985 and later renamed the Bradenton Area Convention Center. The building’s address is 1 Haben Blvd in his honor…