Bronson La Follette | |
---|---|
36th and 39th Wisconsin Attorney General |
|
In office January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1969 |
|
Preceded by | George Thompson |
Succeeded by | Robert W. Warren |
In office January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1987 |
|
Preceded by | Victor A. Miller |
Succeeded by | Don Hanaway |
Personal details | |
Born |
Bronson Cutting La Follette February 2, 1936 Washington, D.C., United States |
Political party | Democratic Party of Wisconsin |
Spouse(s) | Barbara La Follette |
Children | 2 |
Residence | Madison, Wisconsin, United States |
Alma mater |
University of Wisconsin–Madison University of Wisconsin Law School |
Profession | Lawyer |
Bronson Cutting La Follette (born February 2, 1936) was Attorney General of the state of Wisconsin. La Follette was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for governor of Wisconsin in 1968.
Born in Washington, D.C., he was the son of the US Senator Robert M. La Follette, Jr. and Rachel Wilson Young, and the grandson of Senator Robert M. La Follette, Sr., all of Wisconsin. He was named in memory of former Senator Bronson Cutting of New Mexico, a close family friend who died in an airplane crash in 1935.
La Follette received a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1958 and a law degree in 1960. He worked in private practice until 1962, when he began serving as an Assistant US Attorney.
In 1964 he was elected Wisconsin Attorney General and served for two consecutive two-year terms, and then three consecutive four-year terms from 1975 to 1987. He challenged the incumbent Republican Governor Warren P. Knowles in the 1968 Wisconsin gubernatorial election and lost. He ran for and was again elected Attorney General in 1974. Despite a 1981 conviction for drunk driving (blowing .12 while the legal limit at the time was .10), he was re-elected in 1982. After his 1986 defeat following an ethics investigation, he retired from public service and now lives in Madison.