Theodore Schwinden (August 31, 1925 – October 7, 2023) was an American politician from

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

. He was the 19th

governor of Montana A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

from 1981 to 1989. He had previously served as the 26th lieutenant governor of Montana and as a member of the

Montana House of Representatives The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed of 100 members, the House elects its leadership every two years. Composition of the House In the event that the parti ...

Biography

Theodore Schwinden was born in Roosevelt County, Montana, on his family's farm on the

Fort Peck Indian Reservation The Fort Peck Indian Reservation (, ) is located near Fort Peck, Montana, in the northeast part of the state. It is the home of several federally recognized bands of Assiniboine, Lakota, and Dakota peoples of Native Americans. With a total ...

between Wolf Point and Poplar. Schwinden was a valedictorian at his high school. He enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and served in both the European and Pacific theaters in

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 ...

. He left the army in 1946. He earned a bachelor's and master's from the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...

. He was studying toward a PhD in economics at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

before he had to return to his family farm due to his father's ill health.

Career

A member of the Democratic Party, Schwinden was elected to the Montana House of Representatives in 1958, defeating Republican incumbent Chris S. Tange to represent Roosevelt County. Schwinden completed two terms in the House but was unsuccessful in his campaign for a third term. He was elected and named to the Legislative Council in 1959. He served as the House

minority whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline (that members of the party vote according to the party platform rather than their constituents, individual conscience or donors) in a legislature. Whips ...

in 1961. In 1965, he was elected president of the Grain Growers Association. In 1969, he was named Commissioner of State Lands by governor Forrest H. Anderson. He was reappointed in 1973 and served until April 1976. Schwinden resigned to campaign for lieutenant governor and was elected the 23rd lieutenant governor of Montana, serving under Governor

Thomas Lee Judge Thomas Lee Judge (October 12, 1934 – September 8, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 18th List of governors of Montana, governor of Montana from 1973 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, h ...

. He served as lieutenant governor from 1977 to 1981. Schwinden defeated Judge in the Democratic primary in 1980. He then beat Republican Jack Ramirez in that year's

gubernatorial election A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

to become the 19th governor of Montana. He was re-elected governor in 1984, getting the victory over State Senator Pat M. Goodover. Hallmarks of Schwinden's governorship were his "Build Montana" economic plan and popular traveling "Capital for a Day" events, and was known for leading Montana through its economic difficulties. He took pride in being what he felt was a governor who maintained an open and attentive approach to the needs and concerns of the public. Despite favorable polling in 1988, he chose not to seek a third term as governor, staying true to his promise of serving only two terms in office.

Personal life and death

Schwinden married the former Jean Christianson in 1946. Schwinden and his wife had two sons, Mike Schwinden and Dore Schwinden, and one daughter, Chrys Anderson. Jean Schwinden died from cancer on March 24, 2007, at age 81. In his later years, Schwinden lived with his daughter in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. He died in Phoenix on October 7, 2023, at the age of 98.

References

External links

National Governors Association

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwinden, Ted 1925 births 2023 deaths Lutherans from Montana Democratic Party governors of Montana Democratic Party members of the Montana House of Representatives Lieutenant governors of Montana Military personnel from Montana People from Wolf Point, Montana United States Army personnel of World War II University of Montana alumni 20th-century members of the Montana Legislature