Julius P. Heil

Julius P. Heil

Julius Peter Heil (born July 24, 1876 in Dusemond on the Moselle , Germany ; †  November 30, 1949 in Milwaukee , Wisconsin ) was an American politician and from 1939 to 1943 the 30th governor of the state of Wisconsin.

Early years

Heil came to Wisconsin with his parents from Germany in 1881, where the family settled in New Berlin . There he attended the local schools. Then he learned the profession of welder . In this job he worked temporarily in South America in the construction of railways and trams. In 1901 he founded his own company in Wisconsin, which later became known as the Heil Company . In the course of the following decades the company expanded and expanded its product range to include steel tanks, road construction machines and even heating systems for private apartments.

Heil was a member of the Republican Party . Even so, in 1933, Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt made him head of the National Recovery Administration for Wisconsin. This organization was entrusted with overcoming the consequences of the Great Depression and was part of the President's New Deal policy.

Governor of wisconsin

In 1938, Heil was elected the new governor of his state. He managed to beat the incumbent Philip La Follette . After a re-election in 1940, he was able to serve as governor between January 2, 1939 and January 4, 1943. During his tenure, a new Department ( Department of Motor Vehicles ) was created from various other departments. The Department of Public Welfare was created by amalgamating other departments . Other administrative restructuring has also taken place and a new system of budget management has emerged. A new department to study government efficiency, the so-called Division of Departmental Research , was politically controversial. Heil also supported agriculture and took promotional trips to the United States, for example to promote his state's dairy products.

During his second term in office, the United States entered World War II (December 7, 1941). In Wisconsin, as everywhere in the USA, industrial production had to be converted to armaments requirements. Other businesses, such as those in agriculture, had to make changes to their production and marketing due to the war. At the same time, young men were drafted and drafted for the military. The entire national guard of the state was also used in the war. Therefore, the governor created the so-called State Guard, a new force that had to perform the tasks of the National Guard until their return.

Another résumé

After Heil failed in his attempt at re-election in 1942, he had to resign from office in early January 1943. Due to the death of his elected successor, Orland Steen Loomis, before his inauguration, Heil continued to claim the office of governor. However, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that Lieutenant Governor- elect Walter Samuel Goodland should take office. Then he returned to his private interests. He became director and later chairman of the board of the Heil Company . Julius Heil died in November 1949. He was married to Elizabeth Conrad; the couple had a child.

Web links

• Julius P. Heil in the database National Governors Association (English)
• Wisconsin Historical Society (English)
• Julius P. Heil in the database of Find a Grave (English)