Richard W. Leche
| Richard W. Leche | |
|---|---|
Richard W. Leche
|
|
| 44th Governor of Louisiana | |
|
In office May 12, 1936 – June 26, 1939 |
|
| Lieutenant | Earl K. Long |
| Preceded by | James A. Noe |
| Succeeded by | Earl K. Long |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
May 17, 1898 New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Died | February 22, 1965 (aged 66) New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Resting place | Metairie Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Elton Reynolds |
| Alma mater |
Tulane University (BA) Loyola University New Orleans (LLB) |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Army
|
| Battles/wars | World War I |
Richard Webster Leche (May 17, 1898 – February 22, 1965) was the 44th Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana from 1936 until 1939. Leche was the first Louisiana chief executive to be imprisoned.
Leche was born in New Orleans, the son of Eustace Leche, a salesman, and the former Stella Eloise Richard, a teacher. After graduating from Warren Easton High School, Leche entered Tulane University in 1916. His studies were interrupted when he enlisted in the United States Army at the outbreak of the First World War. After being discharged without having seen combat, Leche briefly moved to Chicago, where he sold automobile parts. On his return to Louisiana, Leche graduated from Loyola University Law School and started a law practice in 1923.
In 1928, Leche ran unsuccessfully for the Louisiana State Senate. By 1930, Leche had joined with Governor Huey Pierce Long, Jr., and managed Long's campaign for the United States Senate in the fall of that year. When Long moved on to the Senate in 1932, he appointed Leche as secretary to his successor as governor, Oscar K. Allen. Leche's job was to keep an eye on Allen and report back to Long on a daily basis. In 1934, Long had Leche appointed as an appeals court judge in New Orleans.
After Huey Long was assassinated in September 1935, the Long organization was left without a leader and without a candidate for the 1936 gubernatorial election. After a period of backroom maneuvering, the relatively minor Leche was chosen as a compromise candidate by Longite leaders, including New Orleans mayor Robert Maestri, outgoing governor Oscar K. Allen, James A. Noe, Seymour Weiss, and Abe Shushan. Despite his relative obscurity, Leche was able to beat the anti-Long candidate Cleveland Dear, a U.S. representative from Alexandria, with the aid of the still-powerful Long machine. Leche polled 67 percent of the primary vote, and the anti-Long forces seemed beyond recovery. Outgoing State Representative Mason Spencer of Madison, who had uncannily predicted Long's bloody death some five months before it happened, withdrew as a gubernatorial candidate to support Dear but still polled nearly two thousand votes because his exodus came too late to remove his name from the ballot.
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