Edwin L. Mechem
| Edwin L. Mechem | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico | |
|
In office October 8, 1970 – July 3, 1982 |
|
| Appointed by | Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | new seat |
| Succeeded by | Bobby Ray Baldock |
|
United States Senator from New Mexico |
|
|
In office November 30, 1962 – November 3, 1964 |
|
| Preceded by | Dennis Chavez |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Montoya |
| 15th Governor of New Mexico | |
|
In office January 1, 1951 – January 1, 1955 |
|
| Lieutenant | Tibo J. Chavez |
| Preceded by | Thomas J. Mabry |
| Succeeded by | John F. Simms |
| 17th Governor of New Mexico | |
|
In office January 1, 1957 – January 1, 1959 |
|
| Lieutenant |
Joseph Montoya Vacant |
| Preceded by | John F. Simms |
| Succeeded by | John Burroughs |
| 19th Governor of New Mexico | |
|
In office January 1, 1961 – November 30, 1962 |
|
| Lieutenant | Tom Bolack |
| Preceded by | John Burroughs |
| Succeeded by | Tom Bolack |
| Member of the New Mexico House of Representatives | |
|
In office 1947–1948 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
July 2, 1912 Alamogordo, New Mexico |
| Died | November 27, 2002 (aged 90) Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Dorothy Ellen |
| Residence | Albuquerque |
| Alma mater | University of Arkansas |
| Profession | Attorney |
| Religion | Methodism |
Edwin Leard Mechem (July 2, 1912 – November 27, 2002) was a prominent Republican politician from New Mexico. He served as the 15th, 17th and 19th Governor of New Mexico and represented the state in the United States Senate. Mechem was the first person born in the 20th century to become the state's governor, as well as the first person born in New Mexico after statehood to succeed to the office. He later served as a Federal Judge.
Born in Alamogordo, he attended Alamogordo and Las Cruces, NM schools. He attended New Mexico A & M (now New Mexico State University), 1930–31 and 1935 where he was a member of Alpha Delta Theta local fraternity. When it became a chapter of Sigma Pi fraternity Mechem was one of the first alumni to be initiated into the national organization. He worked as a land surveyor for the U.S. Reclamation Service in Las Cruces from 1932 to 1935. He transferred his college credits to the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and graduated in 1939 in law. He was admitted to the New Mexico Bar the same year and practiced in Las Cruces and later Albuquerque. He was an FBI agent from 1942 to 1945 and a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives, 1947-48. He was elected Governor in 1950 and 1952, did not run in 1954, and was elected again in 1956. In 1954 he ran for the U.S. Senate but was defeated by sitting Senator Clinton Presba Anderson.
A member of the Committee on Government Security, 1956–57, and a member of the American Law Institute, he was again elected Governor in 1960. Mechem lost his bid for reelection on November 6, 1962. He arranged his own appointment (as was his prerogative under the Seventeenth Amendment) to the U.S. Senate when long-time senator Dionisio "Dennis" Chavez died later that month. In the Senate he voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He served until November 1964 and resumed his law practice after an unsuccessful run for reelection. He was a member of the New Mexico Commission on Reorganization of the Executive Branch and a member of the New Mexico State Police Commission.
...
Wikipedia