Donald S. Russell

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Donald S. Russell

Donald Stuart Russell (born February 22, 1906 in Lafayette Springs , Lafayette County , Mississippi , †  February 22, 1998 in Spartanburg , South Carolina ) was an American politician ( Democratic Party ) and from 1963 to 1965 Governor of South Carolina. He also represented this state in the US Senate .

Early years and political advancement

After elementary school, Donald Russell studied at the University of Michigan and the University of South Carolina . After his admission to the bar in 1928, he settled in Spartanburg as a lawyer and practiced there from 1930 to 1942. That year he went to Washington, DC and was employed by the War Department. From 1944 to 1945 he was a major on the staff of the Allied headquarters in Europe.

In 1945, he was succeeded by his friend James F. Byrnes , the former US Secretary of State , the Secretary of State for Administrative Affairs ( Assistant Secretary of State for Administration ) in the Ministry appointed. He held this position until 1947. At the time he was also a member of a commission reforming the organization of the Foreign Ministry. Between 1951 and 1957 he was President of the University of South Carolina. He then practiced as a lawyer again until 1962. A first candidacy for the office of governor failed in the 1958 primaries.

Governor of south carolina

Donald Russell ran again for governor in 1962, this time receiving the support of his party. He won the elections of November 6, 1962 without any opponents. He took up his new office on January 15, 1963. During his tenure, the first African American was admitted to Clemson College . The first black students were also enrolled at the University of South Carolina. It was the time of the civil rights movement and the struggle to end racial segregation, not just in South Carolina but in all of the southern states of the United States.

US Senator and Judge

Russell resigned on April 22, 1965 to take the seat of the late Olin D. Johnston in the US Senate. For the following by-election in 1966 he was not nominated; he lost the democratic primary against Fritz Hollings . From 1967 to 1971 he was a judge at the federal district court for the western district of South Carolina before he was appointed judge at the federal appeals court for the fourth district by President Richard Nixon as successor to Simon Sobeloff . He held this office until his death in 1998; he died on his 92nd birthday. Donald Russell was married to Virginia Utsey, with whom he had four children.

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