Adolph Monroe Edwards Jr. (October 12, 1905 – October 17, 1987) was an American lawyer and statesman, who served as the

Secretary of Guam The secretary of Guam was the equivalent of the lieutenant governor when the governorship was still appointed by the president of the United States. The office became the lieutenant governor of Guam when island residents began electing the positio ...

from 1960 to 1961. Appointed by President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

, Edwards served in multiple roles as solicitor and

counsel A counsel or a counsellor at law is a person who gives advice and deals with various issues, particularly in legal matters. It is a title often used interchangeably with the title of ''lawyer''. The word ''counsel'' can also mean advice given ...

in the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation ...

Early life and education

Edwards was born and raised in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. He graduated from

Walton-Verona High School Walton-Verona High School is a public high school located at 16 School Road in Walton, Kentucky, United States. It is in the Walton-Verona Independent Schools district. History The school's history dates back to 1880. At that time, there wer ...

Walton, Kentucky Walton is a home rule-class city in Boone and Kenton counties in the U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmenta ...

. In 1926, Edwards began law school at the

University of Kentucky College of Law The University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law, also known as UK Rosenberg College of Law, is the law school of the University of Kentucky located in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded initially from a law program at Transylvania Univers ...

. He was a member of the

Pi Kappa Alpha Pi Kappa Alpha (), commonly known as Pike is a college fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1868. The fraternity has over 225 chapters and provisional chapters across the United States and abroad with over 15,500 undergraduate mem ...

fraternity, alongside future

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Earle Clements Earle Chester Clements (October 22, 1896 – March 12, 1985) was a Kentucky politician. He represented the Commonwealth of Kentucky in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and was its 47th Governor, serving from 1947 ...

. In 1929, Edwards received his

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Some law degrees are professional degrees that are prerequisites or serve as preparation for legal careers. These generally include the Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Laws, an ...

from the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

Career

After starting out as an attorney in

Cynthiana, Kentucky Cynthiana is a home rule-class city in Harrison County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 6,402 at the 2010 census. It is the seat of its county. History The settlement developed on both sides of the South Fork of the Lick ...

, Edwards rose to the position of chief counsel of the Office of Territories at the

. In this position, he was the lawyer for the American administration of

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, Hawaii, the

United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located ...

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

, and the

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1994. The Imperial Japanese South Seas Mandate had been seized by the U.S. during the Pacifi ...

. Edwards served as Associate Solicitor of the Department of the Interior from 1954 to 1960, working as chief counsel for the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

, the

Fish and Wildlife Service A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fins and a hard skull, but lacking limbs with digits. Fish can be grouped into the more basal jawless fish and the more common jawed fis ...

, and the Office of Territories. In 1954, President

appointed Edwards to a presidential commission created by the

Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands The Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands is a United States federal law that repealed and replaced the previous Organic Act of the Virgin Islands. It was passed on July 22, 1954 by the U.S. Congress to act as the basis for law in the Unite ...

, establishing American law in the Virgin Islands. He also served as general counsel to the Virgin Islands Company. In 1960, President Eisenhower appointed Edwards as

, a predecessor position to the

Lieutenant Governor of Guam The Guamanian self-governing government consists of a locally elected List of Governors of Guam, governor, List of current United States lieutenant governors, lieutenant governor and a fifteen-member Legislature of Guam, Legislature. The first p ...

. An advocate for

Alaskan Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the norther ...

and Hawaiian statehood, Edwards appeared multiple times before Congress as the Department of the Interior's advocate for statehood. In addition to serving as general counsel for the

Alaska Railroad The Alaska Railroad is a Class II railroad that operates freight and passenger trains in the state of Alaska. The railroad's mainline runs between Seward, Alaska, Seward on the southern coast and Fairbanks, Alaska, Fairbanks, near the center of ...

and Alaska International Rail and Highway Commission, he served as chief advisor to Mike Stepovich, who was serving as the acting

Governor of Alaska A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

in 1957. After leaving government service during the

presidency of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy's tenure as the 35th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 1961, and ended with his assassination on November 22, 1963. Kennedy, a Democrat from Massachusetts, took office following his ...

, Edwards worked for the

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is an American professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. This medical association was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was 271,660 ...

and the Louisiana State Medical Society. He retired in 1972, but continued to serve on the board of a group advocating for building more low-income housing.

Personal life

Edwards was married to Edna Engelbrecht Edwards (1913–2011). They had one son, Adolph III.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, A. M. 1905 births 1987 deaths 20th-century American lawyers Kentucky lawyers People from Kentucky Secretaries of Guam University of Kentucky alumni University of Kentucky College of Law alumni