Edwin Leard Mechem (July 2, 1912 – November 27, 2002) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist from

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. He served as the 15th, 17th, and 19th governor of New Mexico, the first person born in the 20th century to become the state's governor, as well as the first person born in New Mexico after statehood to ascend to the office. During his final term as governor, Mechem appointed himself as a

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

, pursuant to the

Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Seventeenth Amendment (Amendment XVII) to the United States Constitution established the direct election of United States Senate, United States senators in each state. The amendment supersedes Article One of the United States Constitution# ...

. During his tenure, he was one of five non-Southern Republicans in the Senate to vote against the Civil Rights Act 1964. He was defeated in his bid to keep his senate seat in the 1964 United States Senate election in New Mexico. He later served as a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of New Mexico The United States District Court for the District of New Mexico (in case citations, D.N.M.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction comprises the state of New Mexico. Court is held in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, and Santa Fe. Appeals fr ...

Early life and education

Born in

Alamogordo Alamogordo () is a city in and the county seat of Otero County, New Mexico, Otero County, New Mexico, United States. A city in the Tularosa Basin of the Chihuahuan Desert, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains (New Mexico), Sac ...

, he attended schools in Alamogordo and Las Cruces. He attended New Mexico A&M University (now

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...

) from 1930 to 1931 and 1935, where he was a member of Alpha Delta Theta fraternity. When it became a chapter of

Sigma Pi Sigma Pi () is a collegiate fraternity in North America. As of 2021, it had more than 5,000 undergraduate members and over 118,000 alumni. The fraternity is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded on February 26, 1897, at Vincennes Uni ...

fraternity Mechem was one of the first alumni to be initiated into the national organization. He worked as a land surveyor for the

United States Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and operatio ...

in Las Cruces from 1932 to 1935. He transferred his college credits to the

University of Arkansas School of Law The University of Arkansas School of Law is the law school of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a State university system, state university. It has around 445 students enrolled in its Juris Doctor (J.D.) and Master of Law (LL.M ...

and graduated in 1939 with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

Career

New Mexico politics

He was admitted to the New Mexico Bar in 1939 and practiced law in Las Cruces and later

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, New Mexico. He was an

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

agent from 1942 to 1945 and a member of the

New Mexico House of Representatives The New Mexico House of Representatives () is the lower house of the New Mexico State Legislature. There are 70 members of the House. Each member represents roughly 25,980 residents of New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the South ...

from 1947 to 1948. He was elected Governor in 1950 and 1952, did not run in 1954, and was elected again in 1956. In 1954 he 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 ...

but was defeated by sitting Senator

Clinton Presba Anderson Clinton Presba Anderson (October 23, 1895 – November 11, 1975) was an American politician who represented New Mexico in the United States Senate from 1949 until 1973. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as United State ...

. After winning another term as governor in 1956, he was defeated for reelection again in 1958, then elected to a fourth term in 1960. A member of the Committee on Government Security from 1956 to 1957, and a member of the

American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars limited to 3,000 elected members and established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and i ...

, he was again elected Governor in 1960. Mechem lost his bid for reelection on November 6, 1962. He arranged his own appointment (as was his prerogative under the Seventeenth Amendment) to the United States Senate when long-time senator Dionisio "Dennis" Chavez died later that month. In the Senate he voted against the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

. He served until November 1964 and resumed his law practice after an unsuccessful run for reelection. He was a member of the New Mexico Commission on Reorganization of the Executive Branch and a member of the New Mexico State Police Commission.

Federal judicial service

Mechem was nominated by President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

on September 3, 1970, to the

, to a new seat authorized by 84 Stat. 294. He was confirmed by the

on October 8, 1970, and received his commission on October 14, 1970. He assumed senior status on July 3, 1982. His service terminated on November 27, 2002, due to his death.

Notable ruling

As a judge, Mechem's made a ruling protecting the rights of American Indians on Indian lands from government interference.

Personal

Mechem's father, Edwin Mechem Sr., had been a respected state district judge in Las Cruces. He was the nephew of another New Mexican governor, Merritt C. Mechem. His son, Jesse Mechem, was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army, when he died in combat during the Vietnam War.

Death

Mechem died on November 27, 2002, in Albuquerque.

References

Sources

* *
Obituary
via ''

The Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are distributed to its members, major ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mechem, Edwin Leard 1912 births 2002 deaths People from Alamogordo, New Mexico American people of English descent Law enforcement officials from New Mexico Methodists from New Mexico Republican Party United States senators from New Mexico Republican Party governors of New Mexico Republican Party members of the New Mexico House of Representatives Judges of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico United States district court judges appointed by Richard Nixon Federal Bureau of Investigation agents 20th-century United States senators 20th-century members of the New Mexico Legislature Sigma Pi members