Henry Bellmon

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Henry Bellmon

18^th and 23^rd Governor of Oklahoma
In office January 13, 1963 – January 9, 1967 January 12, 1987 – January 14, 1991
Lieutenant(s)	Leo Winters (1963-1967) Robert S. Kerr III (1987-1991)
Preceded by	George Nigh (1st) George Nigh (2nd)
Succeeded by	Dewey F. Bartlett (1st) David Walters (2nd)

Born	September 3, 1921 Billings, Oklahoma
Political party	Republican
Profession	Statesman

Henry Louis Bellmon (born September 3, 1921) is an American Republican politician from Oklahoma. He was a member of the Oklahoma Legislature, twice the Governor of Oklahoma, the first Republican to hold the office, and a two-term United States Senator.

1 Early life and career
2 Later years
3 See also
4 External link

[edit] Early life and career

[edit] Service in World War II

Bellmon was born near Billings, Oklahoma. He graduated from Oklahoma A & M (now Oklahoma State University) in 1942 with a Bachelors Degree in agriculture. He was a lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps from 1942 to 1946. He was a tank platoon leader in the Pacific Theater of World War II. He took part in four amphibious landings on Pacific islands, including Iwo Jima. For his service, he was awarded the Legion of Merit and a Silver Star. After the war he returned to farming and took up politics.

[edit] Entry into Oklahoma politics

He served a single term in the Oklahoma legislature (1946-1948). In 1960 he served as the State Republican Party Chairman. Elected as Oklahoma's first Republican governor since statehood in 1907, he served his first term from 1963 to 1967. While Governor, he served as the chairman of the Interstate Oil Compact Commission and as a member of the executive committee of the National Governor's Association. Under Oklahoma law at the time, a term limit was in place; he was not able to run for second term.

He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1968 and re-elected in 1974. He did not run for a third term in 1980. At his retirement he was the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee. His seat was won by Republican Don Nickles. He was a co-founder and co-chairman of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. He was appointed the interim director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services in 1983.

[edit] Returning to the Governor's mansion

In 1986, Oklahoma Republican leaders asked Bellmon if he would consider running for governor again (by now the term limit provision had been removed). Bellmon agreed to run, and in November Oklahoma voters returned Bellmon to the Governor's Mansion for a second term. During his second tenure as Governor he chaired the Southern States Energy Board. Choosing not to run again, he retired from Oklahoma politics at the end of his second term (in January, 1991); he was succeeded by Democrat David Walters.

[edit] Later years

Bellmon returned to his agriculture business interests. Bellmon has also taught at Oklahoma City University, Central State University, Oklahoma State University, and the University of Oklahoma.

[edit] See also

Preceded by George Patterson Nigh (D)	Governor of Oklahoma 1963–1967	Succeeded by Dewey F. Bartlett (R)
Preceded by A. S. Mike Monroney (D)	United States (Class 3) Senator from Oklahoma 1969–1981	Succeeded by Donald Lee Nickles (R)
Preceded by George Patterson Nigh (D)	Governor of Oklahoma 1987–1991	Succeeded by David Walters (D)