Lurleen Wallace

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lurleen Burns Wallace (born September 19, 1926 in Tuscaloosa , Alabama , † May 7, 1968 in Montgomery , Alabama) was the first wife of George Wallace and from 1967 until her death, the first female governor of Alabama .

Early years

Lurleen Burns Wallace was born on September 19, 1926 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She graduated from Tuscaloosa Business College and then worked in a shop in Tuscaloosa, where she also met her husband, George Wallace . She married him on May 22, 1943 and became a mother and housewife for the next twenty years. She had four children: Bobbi Jo (1944-2015) Parsons, Peggy Sue Kennedy (born 1950), George Wallace, III (born 1951), and Janie Lee Dye (* 1961), after General Robert E. Lee was named .

When her husband was elected governor of Alabama in 1963, she assumed the duties and responsibilities of the first lady . It made the first floor of the governor's residence accessible to tourists seven days a week and refused to dispense alcoholic beverages there at official events.

Governor of Alabama

In 1966, the husband of Wallace as governor was very popular (at least among the white majority population of Alabama), not least because of his strong views against the integration of the races . However, the state constitution of Alabama contained a ban on serving two consecutive terms. So behind Lurleen Wallace's candidacy that year was an implied expectation that her husband would continue to run the state.

In May 1966 she won the Democratic primary election with 54 percent, as well as the subsequent election in November. Her swearing-in took place on January 16, 1967, but she refused the traditional introductory ball out of respect for the citizens who served in Vietnam . Although she continued her husband's segregation policy , she did not remain entirely in his shadow. She initiated a couple of her own programs. The most famous was their successful campaign to increase funding for the state's hospitals and nursing homes ( Engl. Mental Hospital ). It also passed a $ 160 million road guarantee law and a program to develop Alabama's parks and historic sites.

However, during the year she was diagnosed with cancer and her health quickly deteriorated. Her last public appearance was at a football game in December. Her death the following May came during her husband's candidacy for US president . Her successor in office was Lieutenant Governor Albert Brewer , a political companion of her husband who preferred to rule himself. Two years later her widower was allowed to run for governor himself again, and he was sworn in again in January 1971.

Honors

"Lake Lurleen", an approx. 100 hectare reservoir, is named after her and is located in a state park about 15 km northwest of her hometown Tuscaloosa.

In art

In the TV movie Wallace she was played by Mare Winningham , who won an Emmy Award for her acting performance and was nominated for a Golden Globe .

literature

  • Governors of the American States, Commonwealths and Territories. National Governors' Conference, 1967.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lurleen Wallace inaugurated 49 years ago: 11 things to know about Alabama's first female governor , January 19, 2016
  2. ↑ Jack House: Lady of courage: the story of Lurleen Burns Wallace, League Press, 1969, p. 16 [1]
personal data
SURNAME Wallace, Lurleen
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wallace, Lurleen Burns (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician, first wife of George Wallace and Governor of Alabama
DATE OF BIRTH September 19, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Tuscaloosa , Alabama
DATE OF DEATH May 7, 1968
Place of death Montgomery