Cecil H. Underwood

Cecil H. Underwood (1998)

Cecil Harland Underwood (born November 5, 1922 in Josephs Mills , Tyler County , West Virginia , †  November 24, 2008 in Charleston , West Virginia) was an American politician ( Republican Party ). He was the 25th governor from 1957 to 1961 and the 32nd governor of the state of West Virginia from 1997 to 2001 .

Early years and political advancement

Cecil Underwood attended Tyler County High School , Salem College, and West Virginia University . During the Second World War he served in the US Army Reserve Force. Between 1943 and 1950 Underwood was a high school teacher. For the next six years he was vice president of Salem College. Underwood's political career began in 1944 when he was elected to the West Virginia House of Representatives . He kept this mandate until 1956. At times he was group leader of the Republican MPs. In 1956 he was elected the new governor of West Virginia.

First term as governor

Underwood was the first Republican governor of the state of West Virginia since 1928, when William G. Conley was elected. At the time of his inauguration he was the youngest governor of this state to date. Oddly enough, in his second term, he would also be the oldest. Underwood began his first four-year term on January 14, 1957. During this time he promoted the expansion and improvement of the road network. He campaigned for the socially disadvantaged and the unemployed and developed a temporary job creation program. At that time, the number of unemployed had increased due to the introduction of new technologies, especially in mining. He also had the mining laws revised. In addition, a department for the care of the mentally handicapped was established within his government during his tenure. Underwood continued to desegregate schools in the country and supported the civil rights movement . During his first term, the last execution took place in West Virginia in 1959.

Between his two terms as governor

According to the constitution of his state, which forbade two consecutive terms of office of a governor, Underwood had to resign on January 16, 1961 from his office. A candidacy for a seat in the US Senate in 1960 was just as unsuccessful as two attempts to run for governor again in 1964 and 1976; in 1968 he lost his party's primary election. In the years following his first term, Underwood served in a variety of roles. Among other things, he was employed by a coal and chemical company and built up his own company. His name was at times associated with a software company in Morgantown . Between 1972 and 1975 he was President of Bethany College .

Second term as governor

In 1996, Cecil Underwood was elected governor of his state again. 36 years after the end of his first term, he took office on January 13, 1997 as the oldest governor of West Virginia to date. In the election he benefited from a split within the Democratic Party . His second term in office was overshadowed by economic troubles and his moderate views were viewed with skepticism by some of his fellow Republican party members. Underwood was a member of several gubernatorial associations, but he did not succeed in gaining a political majority in his country. In 2000 he ran unsuccessfully for his re-election (this was now constitutionally possible). He was defeated by the Democrat Bob Wise .

Underwood was married to Hovah Hall, who died in 2004, and the couple had three children.

Web links

• Cecil H. Underwood in the database of the National Governors Association (English)
• The governors of West Virginia (English)
• Cecil H. Underwood in the database of Find a Grave (English)