Gordon James Mydland (May 12, 1922 – October 6, 2022) was an American attorney and politician who served as the

Attorney General of South Dakota Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gov ...

. He was also a state senator, and a circuit court judge.

Early life and education

Mydland was born on a farm near Hetland, South Dakota, on May 12, 1922. He attended

South Dakota State University South Dakota State University (SDSU or SD State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota, United States. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest university and is the sec ...

for a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree and the

University of South Dakota School of Law The University of South Dakota School of Law also known as University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law or USD Law in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States, is a professional school of the University of South Dakota and the only law school ...

for his

LL.B 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 ...

degree.

Career

Prior to his election to the state senate, he was the County Attorney for

Brookings County, South Dakota Brookings County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,375, making it the fifth most populous county in South Dakota. Its county seat is Brookings. The county was created in 1862 and orga ...

. He served in the

South Dakota State Senate The South Dakota Senate is the upper house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 35 members, one representing each legislative district. It meets at the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre. Composition :''99th Legislature (2025)' ...

from 1963 to 1968 representing the 13th district (1963–66) and the 6th district (1967–68). He was also

from 1969 to 1973. He was later a judge on the South Dakota Third Judicial Circuit. On April 10, 1968, Mydland was the fourth candidate for the Republican nomination for Attorney General. He joined previously announced candidates Walter Andre, Michael Strain both of Pierre and assistant attorneys general and Tony Wiesensee an attorney from Canton. On July 16, 1968, at the Republican Convention, Mydland defeated Michael Strain by a vote of 82,946 to 48,764; Andre and Wiesensee removed themselves from the race before the voting began. Mydland was elected as Attorney General by defeating Democrat

James Abourezk James George Abourezk ( ; February 24, 1931February 24, 2023) was an American attorney and politician from South Dakota. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in both chambers of the United States Congress for one term each, and was the fi ...

in 1968. Gordon received 148,366 (55.69%) votes; James received 118,045 (44.31%) votes. Mydland was challenged for re-nomination by Ron Schmidt of Pierre. Mydland prevailed with 118,446 1/2 votes to Schmidt receiving 42,542 1/2 votes. Mydland was re-elected in 1970 by defeating Democrat Ramon Roubideaux. Gordon received 116,493 (50.40%) votes; Ramon received 114,633 (49.60%) votes. Mydland ran for the US Senate. In the primary, Mydland finished 2nd to Robert Hirsch, but Hirsch did not get the required 35% of the vote to win the nomination, so the nomination was decided by the South Dakota Republican Convention. Secretary of State

Alma Larson Alma Larson (May 21, 1932 – September 2, 2012) was an American politician. She served as Secretary of State of South Dakota, secretary of state of South Dakota from 1965 to 1973. Life and career Larson was born in Vivian, South Dakota and ...

endorsed Mydland for the nomination runoff. Ultimately, Robert Hirsch was nominated by the convention for the US Senate, but he lost to Democrat

in the general election. In 1977, Mydland was appointed to be a Circuit Court judge for the 3rd Judicial Circuit, where he served until his retirement in 1987.

Personal life and death

Mydland was a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

. He married Lorrie Grange in 1958 and had one son, John Gabriel Mydland. He

turned 100 A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

in May 2022, and died on October 6, 2022, in Brookings, South Dakota. He served 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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mydland, Gordon 1922 births 2022 deaths People from Brookings County, South Dakota People from Kingsbury County, South Dakota Military personnel from South Dakota South Dakota State University alumni University of South Dakota alumni South Dakota attorneys general South Dakota state court judges Republican Party South Dakota state senators District attorneys in South Dakota American men centenarians 20th-century members of the South Dakota Legislature