William Winter (politician)
| William Winter | |
|---|---|
Winter at the University of Mississippi, c. 1949
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| 58th Governor of Mississippi | |
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In office January 22, 1980 – January 10, 1984 |
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| Lieutenant | Brad Dye |
| Preceded by | Cliff Finch |
| Succeeded by | William Allain |
| 25th Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi | |
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In office January 18, 1972 – January 20, 1976 |
|
| Governor | Bill Waller |
| Preceded by | Charles Sullivan |
| Succeeded by | Evelyn Gandy |
| Treasurer of Mississippi | |
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In office January 21, 1964 – January 16, 1968 |
|
| Governor | Paul Johnson |
| Preceded by | Evelyn Gandy |
| Succeeded by | Evelyn Gandy |
| Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives | |
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In office 1947 1951 1955 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
February 21, 1923 Grenada, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Elise Varner |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of Mississippi, Oxford |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Army
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| Years of service | 1945-1948 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
William Forrest Winter (born February 21, 1923) is an American politician from Mississippi. He served as the 58th Governor of Mississippi from 1980 to 1984 as a Democrat. He is known for his strong support of public education, freedom of information, racial reconciliation, and historic preservation. Winter is best remembered for the passage of the Mississippi Education Reform Act. The law was the first serious attempt at improving state education in over 20 years and established public kindergartens. The Winter administration also successfully rewrote the state public utilities law when the legislature passed the Public Utilities Reform Act.
He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi and the Ole Miss law school, where he served as Editor of the Mississippi Law Journal. During his time at Ole Miss, he was an active member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. As a junior class student at Ole Miss, the subject was elected president of the Hermean Literary Society, the Phi Eta Sigma, a scholarly fraternity, and the International Relations Club.
Upon graduating first in his class at Fort Benning, Georgia and receiving his commission as second lieutenant, he was sent to "one of the two African-American infantry training regiments in the Army". During World War II, Winter served in the United States Army infantry in the Philippines where he attained the rank of captain. On Luzon Island in the Philippines, Winter was Liaison Officer and Acting Assistant G-3 of the 86th Infantry Division.
During the Korean War, Winter was stationed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina until he received a hardship discharge in December 1951, soon after his father suffered a heart attack as his mother needed his assistance on the family farm. After the Korean War, Major Winter served in the Mississippi National Guard in the "Dixie Division" or 31st Infantry Division until his retirement in 1957.
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