Walter Welford
| Walter Welford | |
|---|---|
| 20th Governor of North Dakota | |
|
In office February 2, 1935 – January 6, 1937 |
|
| Preceded by | Thomas H. Moodie |
| Succeeded by | William Langer |
| 17th Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota | |
|
In office January 7, 1935 - February 2, 1935 |
|
| Governor | Thomas H. Moodie |
| Preceded by | Ole H. Olson |
| Succeeded by | Thorstein H. H. Thoresen |
| Member of the North Dakota House of Representatives | |
|
In office 1907–1911 |
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| Member of the North Dakota Senate | |
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In office 1917–1921 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
May 21, 1868 Yorkshire, England |
| Died | June 28, 1952 (aged 84) Pembina County, North Dakota |
| Political party | Republican (NPL) |
Walter Welford (May 21, 1868 – June 28, 1952) was born in Bellerby, Yorkshire, England. He was inaugurated as the 20th Governor of North Dakota on February 2, 1935 after Thomas H. Moodie was removed from office after it was determined he was ineligible to hold the office. He served until 1937, having lost the 1936 race to former governor William Langer.
Welford moved with his family to Pembina, North Dakota, in 1879. A farmer, he also served as Vice President of the Merchants Bank of Pembina County. He was married to Edith Bachmann and they had one child who died in infancy.
Welford served as township clerk at Pembina for twenty years. He also served in the North Dakota House of Representatives (1907 to 1911) and Senate (1917 to 1921). As Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota, Welford became governor after Thomas H. Moodie was disqualified. Welford was a staunch supporter of the Nonpartisan League (NPL), a farmers' political group. During Welford's administration the state was caught in the grip of the Great Depression. The 1936 crop yield was disastrously low because of drought. Welford met with President Franklin Roosevelt and obtained federal aid for drought-stricken farmers. In 1936, Welford decided to run for office again. He beat former Governor William Langer for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, but Langer refused to drop out, and entered the general election as an independent. Welford lost the three-way governor's election to Langer. (The third-place candidate was Democrat John Moses, who became North Dakota's twenty-second governor, following Langer's second term.)
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