Norman Howard Bangerter (January 4, 1933 – April 14, 2015) was an American politician and businessman who served as the 13th governor of Utah from 1985 to 1993. He was the first Republican elected to the position since 1960, and the first to hold the office since 1965.

Early life

Bangerter was born in Granger, Utah (now West Valley City) to William Henry Bangerter and Isabelle Bawden. His older brother, William Grant Bangerter, served as a General Authority of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church).

Career

Prior to his election, Bangerter founded a successful

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

firm which specialized in building homes. He served in the Utah House of Representatives from 1975 to 1985 and as

speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

of that body from 1981 until 1985. During his tenure as governor, Bangerter dealt with the flooding of the

Great Salt Lake The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere and the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world. It lies in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah and has a substantial impact upon the local climate, partic ...

and its tributaries by approving the construction of large, US$60 million pumps to channel excess water from the Great Salt Lake onto the

Bonneville Salt Flats The Bonneville Salt Flats are a densely packed salt pan in Tooele County in northwestern Utah, United States. A remnant of the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, it is the largest of many salt flats west of the Great Salt Lake. It is public land ma ...

. This was initially successful, yet caused some controversy when the lake's water level fell in later years, and some regarded the idle pumps as wasteful. Bangerter's "foremost interest was improving the state's educational system". After his retirement as governor, Bangerter returned to his construction firm and served for three years as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

Mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

of the LDS Church from 1996 to 1999. The

Bangerter Highway State Route 154 (SR-154) or Bangerter Highway (named after former Utah Governor Norman H. Bangerter) is a partial expressway running west and then north from Draper through western Salt Lake County, eventually reaching the Salt Lake City Inter ...

( SR-154), which opened in 1998, was named after the former governor, who had long supported such a road. In 2008, Bangerter was appointed to the Governing Board for the national children's charity Operation Kids.

Personal life

Bangerter married his wife, the former Colleen Monson, in 1953. The two had six children and one foster son. On April 14, 2015, Bangerter suffered a stroke and later died at the age of 82.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bangerter, Norman H. 1933 births 2015 deaths 20th-century Mormon missionaries American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American Mormon missionaries in South Africa Brigham Young University alumni Republican Party governors of Utah Mission presidents (LDS Church) Speakers of the Utah House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Utah House of Representatives Latter Day Saints from Utah 20th-century members of the Utah Legislature