Louie B. Nunn

Louie Broady Nunn (born March 8, 1924 in Park , Barren County , Kentucky , † January 29, 2004 in Versailles , Kentucky) was an American politician and governor of the state of Kentucky.

Early years and political advancement

Louie Nunn was born in a small town in Barren County. After elementary school, he attended Bowling Green Business University . During the Second World War he was a soldier in the US Army. He then studied law at the University of Cincinnati and the University of Kentucky . At the age of 29, Republican Nunn was elected judge in the predominantly Democratic Barren County. He was also a lawyer for the City of Glasgow . Politically, he worked as a campaign assistant for Dwight D. Eisenhower and US Senator John Sherman Cooper . In 1963 he was nominated by the Republican Party for the first time for the office of governor. However, he lost in the elections to Edward Breathitt . Four years later he was again a candidate for his party and this time won the election with 51.2% of the vote against Henry Ward (48.0%). In the election campaign he was supported, among others, by his personal friend Ronald Reagan , at that time Governor of California . He was the first Republican to hold office since 1943, when Simeon Willis was elected governor.

Kentucky governor

During his four-year tenure, the University of Louisville and Northern Kentucky University were integrated into the state university system. Until then, they belonged to the respective municipalities. At that time, Kentucky increased its sales tax from 3% to 5%. At the same time, the fees for vehicle registration were also increased. On the other hand, drugs that were officially prescribed as medicine were exempt from tax. In 1968, he put the National Guard to quell unrest in connection with protests by the civil rights movement in Louisville one. The same was repeated in 1970 at the University of Kentucky at Lexington when he forcibly suppressed demonstrations against the Vietnam War . Nunn promoted the education system and the further expansion of the nature parks.

Another résumé

After the end of his tenure in 1971, Nunn applied unsuccessfully for a seat in the US Senate in Washington in 1972 . In 1979 he ran again for governor of Kentucky, but was beaten by John Brown . He then continued to support Republican candidates for various political offices, both at the federal level and in Kentucky. He spent his last years near Versailles. There he died of a heart attack shortly before his 80th birthday.

Web links

• Louie Nunn in the National Governors Association (English)
• Louie B. Nunn in the database of Find a Grave (English)