Edward T. Breathitt

Edward Thompson " Ned " Breathitt Jr. ( * November 26, 1924 in Hopkinsville, Christian County, Kentucky; † 11 October 2003 in Lexington, Kentucky ) was an American politician and governor of the state of Kentucky.

Early years and political rise

Edward Breathitt came from a political family. The distantly related to him was John Breathitt 1832-1834 Governor of Kentucky; his grandfather, James Breathitt officiated from 1907 to 1911 as Attorney General of the State, his uncle James Breathitt, Jr. from 1927 to 1932 as its vice governor.

He studied at the University of Kentucky law. During World War II he spent three years at the United States Army Air Forces. After he finished his studies at the University of Kentucky and settled as a lawyer in Hopkinsville. Between 1952 and 1958 he was a member of the House of Representatives of Kentucky, during the tenure of Governor Bert Combs, he was a member of two Regierungsauschüsse.

Governor of Kentucky

In 1963, Governor Combs was not allowed to run for a direct re-election, because the constitution forbade two related terms. Therefore, Breathitt ran for this office. However, within the party, he had to deal with the former Governor Albert Chandler, who also ran for the nomination. Finally, Breathitt could prevail against him. The actual election to Republican Louie Nunn was very scarce. Breathitt won with 50.7 % of the vote against 49.3 % Nunns. His term of office began on 4 December in 1963 and ended four years later on 12 December 1967. During this time, both the school radio and educational television in Kentucky were introduced. A general Equality Act ( Equal Employment Opportunity ) should ensure equal treatment of all candidates in recruitment to the civil service. In general, Breathitt sat a very for civil rights. At that time, a ministry was created to manage the natural resources of the country ( Department of Natural Resources ). Finally, the Governor promoted both the establishment of industries in Kentucky as well as tourism.

Further CV

After the expiration of his term of office in December 1967, he worked as a lawyer. He also became the legal advisor to the Railway Company Southern Railway. In 1968 he became director of the Institute for Rural America ( Institute for Rural America ), which was funded by the Ford Foundation. In the same year he was also representative of the Federal Government in a Commission of the Southern States, the questions dealt with atomic (Southern Interstate Nuclear Board). Edward Breathitt died in October 2003. He was married to Lucy Alexander, with whom he had four children.