Albert Lee Smith Jr. (August 31, 1931 – August 12, 1997) was an American politician who represented the 6th district in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

during the

97th Congress The 97th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 198 ...

(1981–1983).

Early life

Smith was born in 1931 in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, Alabama. He attended public schools in Jefferson County and graduated from

Ramsay High School Ramsay High School is a four-year magnet high school in Birmingham, Alabama. It is one of seven high schools in the Birmingham City School System and one of three International Baccalaureate schools in the Birmingham metropolitan area. Original ...

before he enrolled at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

Auburn, Alabama Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama. The population was 76,143 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Auburn metropolitan area, Alabama, Aubu ...

."ROTC grads headed for varied careers"
''

The Birmingham News ''The Birmingham News'' was the principal newspaper for Birmingham, Alabama, United States in the latter half of the 20th century and the first quarter of the 21st. The paper was owned by Advance Publications and was a daily newspaper from its ...

'', Birmingham, Alabama, 67th year, number 80, June 15, 1954, page 21. He graduated from Auburn in 1954 with a bachelor of science in agriculture and was commissioned an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

He served from 1954 to 1956. He worked thereafter as an insurance agent before entering political life.

Politics

Smith was elected as a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

in 1968, 1972, and 1984. In 1978, Smith challenged 7-term Republican

John Hall Buchanan, Jr. John Hall Buchanan Jr. (March 19, 1928 – March 5, 2018) was an American military veteran, clergyman, and politician who served as a Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1965 to 1981, representing Alabama's 6th congressiona ...

in the primary for the Birmingham-based 6th District. Buchanan was one of the more moderate Republicans in the House, and Smith ran well to his right. Smith lost fairly handily, but took another run at Buchanan in 1980. With support from conservative Christian activists, Smith defeated Buchanan by a surprising 10-point margin. He then narrowly defeated

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Pete Clifford by three points. Smith voted for president

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 (ERTA), or Kemp–Roth Tax Cut, was an Act that introduced a major tax cut, which was designed to encourage economic growth. The Act was enacted by the 97th Congress and signed into law by U.S. President R ...

. Smith served only one term before being defeated by Democratic Jefferson County commissioner Ben Erdreich. To date, Smith is the last Republican congressman to be unseated by a Democrat in Alabama. In 1984, Smith unsuccessfully ran for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

against incumbent Democrat

Howell Heflin Howell Thomas Heflin (June 19, 1921 – March 29, 2005) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Alabama in the United States Senate from 1979 to 1997. Early life Heflin was born on June 19, 1921, i ...

Private life

With his wife Eunie, Smith had three children Karen, Albert Lee III, and Meg and six grandchildren Jackson, Reece, Cooper, Caroline, Ella Kate, and Audrey. In 2016, following the death of

Phyllis Schlafly Phyllis Stewart Schlafly (; born Phyllis McAlpin Stewart; August 15, 1924 – September 5, 2016) was an American attorney, conservative activist, and anti-feminist, who was nationally prominent in conservatism. She held paleoconservative soc ...

, his widow Eunie Smith became President of the conservative campaign group

Eagle Forum Eagle Forum is a conservative advocacy group in the United States founded by Phyllis Schlafly in 1972. Focused on social issues, it is socially conservative and describes itself as pro-family. Critics have described it as anti-feminist, an ...

.Eunie Smith bio
at eagleforum.org, accessed October 30, 2017

Later life

Smith remained active in a variety of conservative political causes until his death in 1997 at the age of sixty-five. He is buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham.

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Albert L. Jr. 1931 births 1997 deaths Politicians from Birmingham, Alabama Auburn University alumni Businesspeople from Birmingham, Alabama Military personnel from Birmingham, Alabama United States Navy officers Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama 20th-century American businesspeople Burials at Elmwood Cemetery (Birmingham, Alabama) Ramsay High School alumni Phi Delta Theta members 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives