Archie M. Gubbrud

Infobox Officeholder
name =Archie M. Gubbrud
order 22nd
office =Governor of South Dakota
term_start =January 3, 1961
term_end =January 5, 1965
Lieutenant(s) = Joseph H. Bottom 1961-1962; Nils Boe 1963-1965
predecessor = Ralph Herseth
successor = Nils Boe
birth_date = December 31, 1910
birth_place = Norway Township, Lincoln County, South Dakota
death_date = April 26, 1987
death_place = Sioux Falls, South Dakota
nationality =
party = Republican
spouse = Florence Maxine Dexter (1939-1987)
relations = Marius Torwald Gubbrud (father) and Ella Rachel Rommeriem (mother)
children = John Dexter, Maxine (Mrs. Clair Freuik)
residence =
alma_mater = Augustana Academy (1929)
occupation = farmer, politician
profession =
religion = Lutheran


website =
footnotes =

Archie M. Gubbrud (December 31, 1910ndash April 26, 1987) was the twenty-second Governor of South Dakota.

Archie M. Gubbrud was born in Norway Township in Lincoln County, South Dakota. He was one of four children born to Torval Marius and Ella (Rommeriam) Gubbrud. The family name, "Gubbrud," was derived for the Norwegian words for "golden bridge." From 1911 to 1914, Gubbrud's grandfather Andrew Rommeriam had served in the South Dakota House of Representatives and had been a friend of South Dakota governor Peter Norbeck. In 1929, Gubbrud graduated from Augustana Academy in Canton, South Dakota.

After the death of his father in 1934, Gubbrud became responsible for the Gubbrud family farm and was quite successful at farming. His political career started that same year when he became Norway Township clerk. From 1947 to 1952, Gubbrud served as chairman of Elmwood School. In 1948, he was the Lincoln County delegate to the South Dakota state Republican convention. In 1950, Gubbrud was elected to the South Dakota House of Representatives. In 1951, he won the Mississippi Valley Association Soil Conservation Award for South Dakota. He became Speaker of the South Dakota House of Representatives 1959-1960, and was also the Chairman of the Legislative Research Council Executive Board at the same time.

In 1960, Gubbrud ran for Governor of South Dakota, beating the incumbent, Ralph Herseth, by only 4,435 votes. In 1962, Gubbrud was elected for a second term when he beat Ralph Herseth by 31,000 votes. During his tenure he doubled aid to education. The Custer State Hospital and state budget office were also started with his recommendation. In 1965, Gubbrud left office and returned to the Gubbrud family farm seven and a half miles northeast of Alcester, South Dakota. In 1968, Gubbrud reluctantly ran for the office of United States Senator after being urged to do so by the Republicans but was beat by the incumbent, Senator George McGovern.

In 1969, President Richard Nixon appointed Gubbrud as state director of the Farmers Home Administration, and, Gubbrud held that position until 1977. He returned to the Gubbrud farm and remained there until the time of his death from lung cancer (he died at McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, aged 76. He was interred in Lands Lutheran Church cemetery.

References

*"Ex-Governor Gubbrud Of South Dakota Dies", New York Times, April 28, 1987.