Charles Franklin Brannan was born on August 23,1903 in Denver, Colorado. He received his law degree from the University of Denver in 1929. Beginning in 1935, he held a series of legal and administrative position with the United States government, culminating as the Secretary of Agriculture in 1948.

In 1949, he advocated the Brannan plan, as part of president Truman's Fair Deal program. Brannan wanted to gurantee farmer's income, while letting the free market forces determine the prices of commodities. That plan was not enacted by the republican controlled congress, which was focussing on the Cold War.

After leaving the government following the election of Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953, Brannan became the general counsel of the National Farmer's Union until 1990. He died in 1992 in Denver Colorado.