William Marion Smith (born February 2, 1932) is a former Mississippi politician who served as a Democrat in the

Mississippi Senate The Mississippi State Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the Lower house, lower Mississippi House of Represen ...

between 1960–1972. From 1971 to 1972, Smith was the President pro Tempore of the Mississippi State Senate. He also served at one point as interim Governor. He was an attorney who taught at the

University of Mississippi School of Law The University of Mississippi School of Law, also known as Ole Miss Law, is an ABA-accredited law school located on the campus of the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi, United States. Established in 1854, the School of Law offers t ...

. He has served as president of the

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

Alumni Association, the Inter-Alumni Council of Institutions of Higher Learning and the

Mississippi Historical Society The Mississippi Historical Society (MHS) is a historical society located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The society was established in 1858 but was terminated soon after because of the outbreak of the American Civil War. It remained in hiatus u ...

, among other organizations.

Early life

William Marion Smith was born on February 2, 1932, in

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the only city in and the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,520 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia, Louisiana, Natchez was ...

. He graduated from

Natchez High School Natchez High School is a public school in Natchez, Mississippi ( USA). It is part of the Natchez-Adams School District and serves students in grades nine through twelve. About In 2005, it had 1,358 students and 73 teachers. 88% of the students ...

, and received B.A. and J.D. degrees from the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

References

1932 births Living people Presidents pro tempore of the Mississippi State Senate Mississippi lawyers Democratic Party Mississippi state senators University of Mississippi faculty 20th-century members of the Mississippi Legislature {{Mississippi-politician-stub