Ralph Herseth

Ralph E. Herseth (born July 2, 1909 in Houghton , Brown County , South Dakota , †  January 24, 1969 in Aberdeen , South Dakota) was an American politician and from 1959 to 1961 the 21st  governor of the state of South Dakota.

Early years and political advancement

Ralph Herseth graduated from North Dakota State College in Fargo between 1928 and 1929 . After that he worked as a farmer and rancher. Between 1935 and 1939 he was the head of the Civilian Conservation Corps in Sand Lake. From 1951 and 1952 and again from 1957 and 1958 he sat in the Senate of South Dakota . In 1958 he was elected as the Democratic Party candidate for new governor. He is one of only five governors in the history of South Dakota who did not belong to the Republican Party .

South Dakota Governor

Herseth began his two-year term on January 6, 1959. During his tenure he had to deal with the Republican majority in the state parliament. Nevertheless, he operated a tax reform. During his tenure, the first conservation law was passed in South Dakota. At that time, construction work on the Big Bend Dam began on the Missouri . In 1959, several natural disasters in South Dakota caused significant problems for both the population and the government.

Another résumé

After his attempt at re-election in 1960 failed, Herseth resigned from office on January 3, 1961. Another attempt to be re-elected governor failed in 1962. Ralph Herseth died in January 1969. He was married to Lorna Buntrock , with whom he had three children. His wife was also politically active and served, among other things, as Secretary of State of South Dakota. His granddaughter Stephanie Herseth Sandlin was a member of the US House of Representatives from 2005 to 2011 as the representative of South Dakota .

Web links

• Ralph Herseth in the National Governors Association (English)
• Ralph Herseth in the database of Find a Grave (English)