John Connally

John Connally
Connally in 1961
61st United States Secretary of the Treasury
In office
February 11, 1971 – June 12, 1972
PresidentRichard Nixon
Preceded byDavid M. Kennedy
Succeeded byGeorge Shultz
39th Governor of Texas
In office
January 15, 1963 – January 21, 1969
LieutenantPreston Smith
Preceded byPrice Daniel
Succeeded byPreston Smith
56th United States Secretary of the Navy
In office
January 25, 1961 – December 20, 1961
PresidentJohn F. Kennedy
Preceded byWilliam B. Franke
Succeeded byFred Korth
Personal details
Born
John Bowden Connally Jr.

(1917-02-27)February 27, 1917
Floresville, Texas, U.S.
DiedJune 15, 1993(1993-06-15) (aged 76)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Resting placeTexas State Cemetery
Political partyRepublican (from 1973)
Other political
affiliations
Democratic (until 1973)
Spouse
(m. 1940)
Children4
RelativesWayne Connally (brother)
EducationUniversity of Texas, Austin (BA, LLB)
Signature
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Navy
RankLieutenant commander
Battles/warsWorld War II

John Bowden Connally Jr. (February 27, 1917 – June 15, 1993) was an American politician who served as the 39th governor of Texas (1963–1969) and as the 61st United States Secretary of the Treasury (1971–1972). He began his career as a Democrat and later became a Republican in 1973.

Born in Floresville, Texas, Connally pursued a legal career after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin. During World War II, he served on the staff of James Forrestal and Dwight D. Eisenhower before transferring to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. After the war, he became an aide to Senator Lyndon B. Johnson. When Johnson assumed the vice presidency in 1961, he convinced President John F. Kennedy to appoint Connally to the position of United States Secretary of the Navy. Connally left the Kennedy Administration in December 1961 to successfully run for Governor of Texas. In 1963, Connally was riding in the presidential limousine when Kennedy was assassinated, and was seriously wounded. During his governorship, he was a conservative Democrat.

In 1971, Republican President Richard Nixon appointed Connally as his treasury secretary. In this position, Connally presided over the removal of the United States dollar from the gold standard, an event known as the Nixon shock. Connally stepped down from the Cabinet in 1972 to lead the Democrats for Nixon organization, which campaigned for Nixon's re-election. He was a candidate to replace Vice President Spiro Agnew after the latter resigned in 1973, but Nixon chose Gerald Ford instead. He sought the Republican nomination for president in the 1980 election, but withdrew from the race after the first set of primaries. Connally did not seek public office again after 1980 and died of pulmonary fibrosis in 1993.