Leslie Jensen

Leslie Jensen (born September 15, 1892 in Hot Springs , Fall River County , South Dakota , †  December 14, 1964 in Rapid City , South Dakota) was an American politician and from 1937 to 1939 the 15th governor of the state of South Dakota .

Early years

Leslie Jensen attended the University of South Dakota . He then joined the US Army and was deployed on the border with Mexico from 1916 to 1917 , where there had been minor border conflicts. As a captain (captain) he was a member of the American expeditionary forces in France between 1917 and 1919 during the First World War . From 1922 to 1934 he was employed in the financial administration. Then he became president of a telephone company. As a member of the Republican Party , Jensen was elected its candidate for the upcoming gubernatorial election in 1936. In the actual elections, he managed to defeat incumbent governor Thomas Berry , who was running for a third term.

South Dakota Governor

Leslie Jensen took up his new office on January 5, 1937. During his two-year tenure, a separate government department was created in South Dakota, which should initiate the adoption of the new social laws of the federal government for the state of South Dakota. Governor Jensen also managed to balance the state budget. In 1938 he waived re-election in favor of running for the US Senate . But he could not win the relevant elections.

Jensen's tenure ended on January 3, 1939. After that, he devoted himself to his private interests. During the Second World War he served as a colonel in the US armed forces. After the end of the war he retired to Hot Springs, where he pursued his private interests again. Leslie Jensen died in December 1964. He was married to Elizabeth Ward, with whom he had three children.

Web links

• Leslie Jensen in the National Governors Association (English)
• Leslie Jensen in the database of Find a Grave (English)