Robert Floyd Kennon Sr. (August 21, 1902 – January 11, 1988), was an American politician and judge who served as the 48th

governor of Louisiana The governor of Louisiana (; ) is the chief executive of the U.S. state government of Louisiana. The governor also serves as the commander in chief of the Louisiana National Guard. Republican Jeff Landry has held the office since January 8, ...

, an associate justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, a judge of the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal, the

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

Bossier Parish Bossier Parish ( ; ) is a parish located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, the population was 128,746. The parish seat is Benton. The principal city is Bossier City, which is located east of the R ...

and

Webster Parish Webster Parish ( French: ''Paroisse de Webster'') is a parish located in the northwestern section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat and largest city is Minden. As of the 2020 census, the Webster Parish population was 36,967. Pu ...

, and mayor of

Minden, Louisiana Minden is a small city in and the parish seat of Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 11,928. The Main Street district of Minden ...

. During Kennon's governorship, he additionally served as chairman of the

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American Politics of the United States, political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 U.S. state, states, Territories of the United States, territories ...

and chairman of the

Council of State Governments The Council of State Governments (CSG) is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization in the United States that serves all three branches of state government. Founded in 1933 by Colorado state senator Henry W. Toll, CSG is a region-based forum t ...

Early life

Kennon was born near Minden, Louisiana. He graduated from Minden High School in 1919 and then went to

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

. While at LSU, Kennon played football and tennis. He completed his undergrad there in 1923 and his law degree there in 1925.

Career

In 1925, Kennon was elected mayor of Minden, Louisiana, at the age of 23. He served in that position until 1928. In 1930, he became

for

. He served as a district attorney until 1940. He also served as district attorney in

. Apparently he was attorney for both parishes at the same time. Kennon was elected to the 2nd circuit court of appeals in 1940. However, he instead of serving joined the United States military and did not take up active service as a judge until after World War II. While governor, Kennon reestablished the state

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

in Louisiana, which had been abolished by his predecessor

Earl Long Earl Kemp Long (August 26, 1895 – September 5, 1960) was an American politician who served as the List of governors of Louisiana, 45th governor of Louisiana on three occasions (1939–1940, 1948–1952, and 1956–1960). A member of the ...

. He also advocated constitutional amendments to limit the power of the governor's office. He also worked to create

home rule Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...

for

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and end state government interference in local issues there. Other things Kennon did while governor were ensuring that every precinct had a voting machine while working to suppress illegal slot machines and gambling in the state. During Kennon's governorship, he additionally served as chairman of the National Governors Association from 1954 to 1955, and as chairman of the

in 1955."Former Governor Kennon dies", ''

Minden Press-Herald Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...

'', January 12, 1988, p. 1.

References

External links

*
State of Louisiana - Biography

Cemetery Memorial
by La-Cemeteries , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennon, Robert F. 1902 births 1988 deaths 20th-century Louisiana state court judges 20th-century mayors of places in Louisiana United States Army personnel of World War II American Presbyterians Circuit court judges in the United States Democratic Party governors of Louisiana District attorneys in Louisiana Louisiana state court judges Louisiana State University alumni Justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court LSU Tigers football players LSU Tigers tennis players Mayors of Minden, Louisiana Minden High School (Minden, Louisiana) alumni People from Dubberly, Louisiana Politicians from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Lawyers from Baton Rouge, Louisiana United States Army colonels