Dave Treen

David Connor "Dave" Treen, Sr. (* July 16, 1928 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, † October 29, 2009 in Metairie, Louisiana ) was an American politician. He was from 1980 to 1984 Governor of the State of Louisiana. He also represented his state 1973-1980 in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington.

Early years

David Treen attended Fortier High School in New Orleans and then studied at Tulane University. There he earned the 1948 bachelor's degree in History and Political Science. After a subsequent study of law at the Law Faculty of the same university, he was admitted in 1950 as a lawyer. Between 1951 and 1952 he served in the U.S. Air Force before he began to work as a lawyer in the law firm German, Kerrigan & Stiles, New Orleans.

Political rise

Treen was initially a member of a splinter party, the so-called Louisiana States ' Rights Party. Treen stressed, however, that this party had nothing to do with the neo -Nazi National States ' Rights Party. In 1962, Treen was then a member of the Republicans, in whose ranks he soon rose. Between 1964 and 1980 he was a delegate to every Republican National Conventions. From 1962 to 1973 he was on the board of the Republicans in Louisiana. Since at this time the Republican Party in this state played no substantial role for nearly 100 years in the shadow of the Democrats, Treen had no chance when he competed in the years 1962, 1964 and 1968 for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Also unsuccessful was his candidacy for the governorship in 1972.

The political landscape in Louisiana changed under Governor Edwin Edwards, who changed the code principle and all parties to participate simultaneously in the primaries left ( Jungle primary system). This accelerated the rise of the Republicans in Louisiana, where for a real two-party system. Against this background, Treen was elected as a delegate to Congress in 1972. This mandate he held between January 1973 and March 10, 1980 3. In Congress he was a member of various committees.

Governor of Louisiana

In 1979, David Treen was elected as the first Republican since William P. Kellogg, who had held office 1873-1877 Governor of his state. Treen took up his new post on March 10, 1980. During his tenure, the taxes were lowered and the budget process is reformed. In his government, members of the Democratic Party have been integrated. At that time, African Americans were more jobs in the public service than ever before. In addition, Treen sat for an improvement of the education system a. An economic crisis made ​​him but then increasingly to create. In addition, his leadership style and his personality came partially to reject even within his party. For this reason, he could not prevail in the next election. He was defeated by his predecessor Edwards.

Further CV

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan appointed him judge of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. However, this appointment could not be politically enforced so that Treen this office could not compete. In 1991, Treen supported his old adversary Edwards in the gubernatorial election in order to prevent the election of David Duke, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan. In 1999, Treen ran unsuccessfully for a return to the U.S. House of Representatives. Then he withdrew into retirement. Since the death of his wife Dodi in 2005, with whom he had three children, he was a widower.

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