Richard F. Kneip

Richard Francis Kneip (born January 7, 1933 in Tyler , Lincoln County , Minnesota , † March 9, 1987 in Sioux Falls , South Dakota ) was an American politician and from 1971 to 1978 the 25th governor of the state of South Dakota. He later became the United States Ambassador to Singapore .

Early years and political advancement

Richard Kneip did his military service in the US Navy between 1951 and 1955 after leaving school . During this time he was stationed in Germany. After returning to civilian life, he attended South Dakota State University and Saint John's University . Then he got into the dairy business. Between 1965 and 1971, Kneip was a member of the South Dakota Senate . For the past four years he served as leader of the Democrats . In 1970 he was elected new governor against incumbent Frank L. Farrar . He became one of only five governors of South Dakota who did not belong to the Republican Party .

South Dakota Governor

Kneip took up his new office on January 5, 1971. During his reign, a constitutional amendment came into force, according to which the term of a governor was extended from two to four years. In 1972 Kneip was elected for the last time to a two-year term; in 1974 he was re-elected, this time with a four-year term. The greatest political problem of his reign was disputes over relations between whites and Indians. In the age of the civil rights movement , the Indians demanded equality for themselves. In the course of the conflict, the Indians occupied the place Wounded Knee , where the infamous massacre of the Indians had taken place in 1890. The unrest that followed resulted in deaths and injuries. Governor Kneip set up a commission that eventually came to an agreement with the representatives of the Indians. The governor also tightened administration by merging departments and ministries. Other priorities of his tenure were tax reform, the expansion of the motorways and school policy. On July 24, 1978, Kneip resigned to go to Singapore as US ambassador. He had the longest tenure of any governor in South Dakota to date.

Another résumé

Richard Kneip stayed in Singapore until 1980. Then he returned to his private interests. In 1986 he reapplied for his party's nomination for governor. But he could not prevail in the primaries. At the beginning of 1987 Kneip was diagnosed with cancer, of which he died in March of the same year. He was married to Nancy Lou Panky, with whom he had eight children.

Web links

• Richard Kneip in the National Governors Association (English)
• Richard F. Kneip in nndb (English)
• Richard F. Kneip in the database of Find a Grave (English)