David C. Treen

Dave Treen

David Connor "Dave" Treen Sr. (born July 16, 1928 in Baton Rouge , Louisiana , † October 29, 2009 in Metairie , Louisiana) was an American politician . He was governor of the state of Louisiana from 1980 to 1984 . He also represented his state in the US House of Representatives in Washington between 1973 and 1980 .

Early years

David Treen attended Fortier High School in New Orleans and then studied at Tulane University . There he earned his bachelor's degree in history and political science in 1948. After studying law at the law faculty of the same university, he was admitted to the bar in 1950. Between 1951 and 1952 he served in the US Air Force before starting to work as a lawyer in the law firm Deutsch, Kerrigan & Stiles in New Orleans .

Political rise

Treen first became a member of a splinter party, the so-called Louisiana States' Rights Party . Treen emphasized, however, that this party had nothing to do with the neo-Nazi National States' Rights Party . In 1962, Treen joined the Republicans and soon rose to join the ranks. Between 1964 and 1980 he was a delegate at all Republican National Conventions . From 1962 to 1973 he served on the Louisiana Republican board of directors. Since the Republican Party did not play a major role in this state at the time and had been in the shadow of the Democrats for almost 100 years , Treen had no chance when he applied for a seat in the US House of Representatives in 1962, 1964 and 1968. His candidacy for governor in 1972 was equally unsuccessful.

The party landscape in Louisiana changed under Governor Edwin Edwards , who changed the pre-election principle and allowed all parties to participate in the primaries at the same time ( Jungle primary system ). This accelerated the rise of the Republicans in Louisiana and resulted in a true two-party system there. Against this background, Treen was elected as a member of Congress in 1972. He exercised this mandate between January 3, 1973 and March 10, 1980. He was a member of various committees in Congress.

Louisiana Governor

In 1979, David Treen was elected governor of his state as the first Republican since William P. Kellogg , who served between 1873 and 1877. Treen took up his new office on March 10, 1980. During his tenure, taxes were cut and the budget reformed. Members of the Democratic Party were also integrated into his government. Back then, more African-Americans were getting public service jobs than ever before. Treen also worked to improve the education system. An economic crisis then increasingly bothered him. In addition, his style of government and his personality met in some cases with rejection within his party. For this reason he could not prevail in the next elections. He lost to his predecessor Edwards.

Another résumé

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan appointed him a judge on the Fifth Federal Court of Appeals. This appointment could not be enforced politically, so that Treen could not take this office. In 1991, Treen supported his old opponent Edwards in the gubernatorial election to prevent the election of David Duke , a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan . In 1999, Treen ran unsuccessfully for a return to the US House of Representatives. After that, he retired. He has been a widower since the death of his wife Dodi in 2005, with whom he had three children.

Web links

• Davis Treen in the National Governors Association (English)
• David C. Treen in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• The governors of Louisiana (English)
• David C. Treen in the database of Find a Grave (English)