Albert G. Schmedeman

Albert G. Schmedeman

Albert George Schmedeman (born November 25, 1864 in Madison , Wisconsin , †  November 26, 1946 ibid) was an American politician and from 1933 to 1935 the 28th  governor of the state of Wisconsin.

Early years

Albert Schmedeman, son of German immigrants, attended North Western Commercial College in Madison, the capital of Wisconsin. From 1884 he worked in a clothing store. In 1892 he became a senior partner in the Schmedemann und Baillie clothing company.

Political rise

Schmedeman was a member of the Democratic Party . Between 1903 and 1907 he was a member of Madison City Council. At the same time he was on the school board as well as the fire and police commissioner of the city. In 1910 he ran unsuccessfully for Congress, and in 1912 his attempt to be elected mayor of Madison failed. He was then Treasurer of the Wisconsin Democratic Party. In 1912 he supported Woodrow Wilson's successful presidential campaign . After his election victory, he appointed Schmedeman as ambassador of the United States to Norway . He held this post until the end of Wilson's presidency in 1921. In his capacity as ambassador, he received the President's Nobel Peace Prize in 1919 on behalf of the President .

After the end of his activity in Norway, he remained politically active. He became the district leader of the Democratic Party in Madison. Between 1926 and 1932 he was mayor of this city. In 1928 he was his party's top candidate for the upcoming gubernatorial election. However, he was defeated by the Republican Walter Kohler .

Governor of wisconsin

Four years after his unsuccessful candidacy for governor, Schmedeman made another attempt in 1932 to win this office. This time he won the election against the incumbent governor Philip La Follette . This election victory came against the backdrop of a nationwide trend in favor of the Democrats, culminating in the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt as US President. Between January 2, 1933 and January 7, 1935, Schmedeman could now serve as governor of Wisconsin. At the beginning of his term in office, the global economic crisis had reached its peak. Similar to some other states, the governor closed the banks for a few days. He also helped farmers and homeowners with discounted loans. He also benefited from the president's federal policy, which went down in American history as the New Deal . At the end of his two-year reign, the economic situation was clearly on the mend. In 1934 he still lost in the gubernatorial elections against his predecessor Philip La Follette, who thus also became his successor.

Another résumé

During the 1934 election campaign he sustained a foot injury while visiting a possible site for a national park. This developed into gangrene, which led to the amputation of his leg. Nevertheless, he was still interested in political events. Between 1935 and 1942 he was appointed by President Roosevelt to oversee the Federal Housing Administration in Wisconsin. After that he retired to Madison. He died there in 1946. Albert Schedeman was married to Katherine Regan, with whom he had two children.

Web links

• Albert G. Schmedeman in the database of the National Governors Association (English)
• Wisconsin Historical Society (English)