Patrick Lucey

Patrick Joseph Lucey ( born March 21, 1918 in La Crosse, Wisconsin ) is a retired American politician. He was from 1971 to 1977 the 38th Governor of Wisconsin.

Early years

Lucey attended the Champion High School in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin and then the St. Thomas College in St. Paul, Minnesota. From 1937 to 1940 he was head of a retail store. During the Second World War he was a soldier in the U.S. Army. In 1946 he graduated from the University of Wisconsin. After that, he was manager until 1951 from 14 farms in southwestern Wisconsin. In 1954 he began to act with real estate. At the beginning of his political career Lucey was a member of the Democrats. Between 1946 and 1950 he was a justice of the peace and 1949-1951 he was a member of the national parliament of Wisconsin. From 1957 to 1963 he was state chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. In the years 1972 and 1976 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. In 1964 he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin. This office he held from 1965-1967.

Governor of Wisconsin

In 1970 he was elected governor of his state. He took office on January 4, 1971. After his first four -year term in 1974, he was confirmed by the voters. During his reign he attacked an old plan from the 1890s on again, which provided for a merger of the two state universities in the country. This was at the University of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin State University. The plan had been discussed inconclusively in the 1940s and 1950s. Patrick Lucey managed the merger of the two institutions in 1974. Lucey also promoted tourism in his state. Before the end of his second term Lucey resigned on July 7, 1977 from his office in order to accept an offer of the new President Jimmy Carter, who appointed him U.S. Ambassador to Mexico.

Further CV

Lucey was between 1977 and 1979 Ambassador to Mexico. For the upcoming presidential elections of 1980, he presented himself as a candidate of the Independent Party for vice-president. Neither he nor his party had a chance of victory in the elections. In these elections, the Republican Ronald Reagan was elected against the Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter as president. Patrick Lucey is married to Jean Vlasis, with whom he has three children.