Bruce Armistead Smathers (born October 3, 1943) is a retired Democratic politician from

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. He served as the 18th

Secretary of State of Florida The secretary of state of Florida is an executive officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Florida, established since the original 1838 Constitution of Florida, state constitution. Like the corresponding officials in other states, th ...

from 1975 to 1978.

Political career

Smathers began his political career in 1972, when he was elected to the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

from the 9th District, representing most of Duval County. He had entered an already-crowded primary election field, facing incumbents

Bill Beaufort C. William "Bill" Beaufort (July 24, 1913 – 2000) was an American politician. He served as a Democratic member for the 11th district of the Florida Senate. Life and career Beaufort was born July 24, 1913, in Graniteville, South Carolina. ...

and Lynwood Arnold, after the two were drawn into the same district. Smathers advanced to the primary runoff with Arnold, who he went on to defeat. In 1974, he was elected Secretary of State. Once in office, Smathers reformed election laws, modernized the Division of Corporations, became involved in the " Atocha" treasure dispute, expanded support for cultural affairs, and was best known as leader of the successful effort to preserve Florida's Old Capitol (1845–1978). At the time he took office, he was the youngest member of the

Florida Cabinet The Florida Cabinet is a body of the government of Florida comprising the attorney general, the commissioner of agriculture, and the chief financial officer that engages in the collective governance of the state. History Created following Recon ...

in the twentieth century. In July 1978, Smathers resigned to campaign for governor. He lost in the Democratic primary to

Bob Graham Daniel Robert Graham (November 9, 1936 – April 16, 2024) was an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 38th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senate, United States senat ...

Family and background

He is the younger son of

George Smathers George Armistead Smathers (November 14, 1913 – January 20, 2007) was an American lawyer and politician from the state of Florida who served in both chambers of the United States Congress, the United States House of Representatives from 1947 t ...

, former

Congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

and

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

for Florida. After attending the St. Alban's School, Smathers earned an undergraduate degree in

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

(with honors) and a

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

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

( Florida Blue Key and

Florida Law Review The ''Florida Law Review'' is a bimonthly law review published by the University of Florida's Fredric G. Levin College of Law. The journal was established in 1948 as the ''University of Florida Law Review'' and it assumed its current name in 1989. ...

). A NROTC graduate, Smathers was commissioned as an Ensign in the United States Navy. Smathers received assignment to Naval Amphibious Base Coronado and subsequently completed Underwater Demolition Training Replacement Accession (UDTRA) training class 36, now known as BUD/S training. Smathers was assigned to

Underwater Demolition Team The Underwater Demolition Team (UDT), or frogmen, were amphibious units created by the United States Navy during World War II with specialized missions. They were predecessors of the Navy's current United States Navy SEAL, SEAL teams. Their pri ...

Eleven (UDT-11), served with

Naval Special Warfare The United States Naval Special Warfare Command (USNSWC), also known as NAVSPECWARCOM and WARCOM, is the naval component of United States Special Operations Command, the unified command that oversees and conducts the nation's special operatio ...

Pacific, and was a decorated

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

Veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

College relations

Smathers was college roommates with two different members of Congress. Smathers roomed with U.S. Senator

Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician, attorney, and former astronaut who served from 2001 to 2019 as a United States Senate, United States senator from Florida and from 2021 to 2025 as the Administrator ...

during undergraduate studies at

References

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Smathers, Bruce Armistead 1943 births Living people Secretaries of state of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law alumni Florida state senators St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.) alumni Yale University alumni 20th-century members of the Florida Legislature