Harry Kelly

Harry Kelly

Harris Francis "Harry" Kelly (born April 19, 1895 in Ottawa , Illinois , †  February 8, 1971 in West Palm Beach , Florida ) was an American lawyer and politician and from 1943 to 1947 the 39th  governor of the state of Michigan .

Early years and political advancement

Harry Kelly attended the University of Notre Dame until 1917 , where he studied law. During the First World War he fought in the US Army in Europe. He lost a leg in the process. After returning home, he began a career in the civil service. Between 1920 and 1924 he was a district attorney in LaSalle County . After his tenure ended, he followed his father, who had moved to Detroit , Michigan. Together with him and another brother named Emmett, they founded a law firm there. Between 1930 and 1934, Kelly was an assistant district attorney in Wayne County .

Political career

Kelly was a member of the Republican Party . Between 1939 and 1943 he served as Secretary of State of Michigan. On November 3, 1942, he was elected governor of his state.

Kelly took up his new office on January 1, 1943. After re-election in 1944, he was able to exercise it until January 1, 1947. At the beginning of his tenure, World War II was still in full swing and the governor supported the federal government's war effort. After the end of the war in 1945, industrial production in Michigan had to be cut back to meet civilian needs, and the returning soldiers had to be reintegrated into society. In addition, the war invalids had to be cared for. Domestically, the government apparatus was restructured. A commission of inquiry was set up to investigate any mismanagement within the state legislature. In June 1944, Kelly took part as a delegate at the Republican National Convention in Chicago , at which Thomas E. Dewey was nominated as a presidential candidate.

Kelly renounced a third term in 1946 and therefore had to resign on January 1, 1947 from his office. Even after the end of his governorship, Kelly remained politically active. In 1950 he applied again for the post of governor. He lost a gossamer against the Democrat G. Mennen Williams . Between 1954 and 1971 he was a judge on the Michigan Supreme Court . He died in 1971. Harry Kelly was married to Anne V. O'Brian, with whom he had six children. His son Brian (1931-2005) became known as the leading actor in the TV series Flipper .

Web links

• Harry Kelly in the National Governors Association (English)
• Harry Kelly in the database of Find a Grave (English)