Walter Maddock

Infobox Governor
name = Walter J. Maddock


order = 15th
office = Governor of North Dakota
term_start = 1928
term_end = 1929
lieutenant = John W. Carr
predecessor = Arthur G. Sorlie
successor = George F. Shafer
birth_date = September 13, 1880
birth_place = Grand Forks, North Dakota
death_date = January 28, 1951
death_place =
party = Republican
spouse =
profession =
religion =

Walter J. Maddock (September 13, 1880 – January 25, 1951) was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He served in the North Dakota House of Representatives from 1914 to 1924, and became the Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota in 1924. Maddock became the fifteenth Governor of North Dakota in 1928 when the Arthur G. Sorlie died in office, and became the first North Dakota born governor. He served the remainder of Sorlie's term and sought re-election, but he failed to win the race against George F. Shafer. In the 1928 election, he did something rare when he switched parties from republican to democratic. After being defeated in the election, Maddock returned to farming and was active in organizing farmers' cooperatives. Maddock was a very strong supporter of the Nonpartisan League, and he supported state-owned industries (Bank of North Dakota and the State Mill and Elevator). [http://www.state.nd.us/hist/ndgov3.htm] In 1933, Maddock became senior administrative officer of the regional Agricultural Adjustment Administration. From 1937 until his retirement in 1950, he served as head of North Dakota's Farm Security Administration office.

External links

* [http://www.state.nd.us/hist/ndgov3.htm#maddock Walter J. Maddock's biography] from the [http://www.state.nd.us/hist/ Historical Society of North Dakota website]