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Created page with "{{Infobox officeholder |name=George Dekle Busbee, Sr. |image=George Busbee of GA.jpg |office=77th Governor of Georgia |term_start=January 14, 1975 |term_end=January 11..."
{{Infobox officeholder
|name=George Dekle Busbee, Sr.
|image=George Busbee of GA.jpg
|office=77th [[Governor]] of [[Georgia]]
|term_start=January 14, 1975
|term_end=January 11, 1983
|lieutenant=[[Zell Miller]]
|preceded=[[Jimmy Carter]]
|succeeded=Joe Frank Harris
|birth_date=August 7, 1927
|birth_place=Vienna, Dooly County, Georgia
|death_date=July 16, 2004 (aged 76)
|death_place=Savannah International Airport in Savannah, Georgia
|death_cause=[[Heart attack]]
|alma_mater=Georgia Military College<br>Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College<br>[[University of Georgia]] (Bachelor's and law degrees)
|spouse=Mary Elizabeth Talbot Busbee (married 1949-2004, his death)
|children=Beth B. Kindt<br>
Jan B. Curtis<br>
George D. Busbee, Jr.<br>
Jeff Busbee
|occupation=[[Attorney]]
|party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
|religion=[[Southern Baptist]]
|branch=[[United States Navy]]
}}
'''George Dekle Busbee, Sr.''' (August 7, 1927 – July 16, 2004), was the 77th [[Governor]] of his native [[Georgia]], the first governor to serve two consecutive terms from 1975-1983. He succeeded [[Jimmy Carter]] the year before Carter was elected as [[U.S. President]] and defeated [[Lester Maddox]] to win the 1974 [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] gubernatorial nominee. He then swamped [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[Ronnie Thompson]] in the [[general election]].
==Life and career==
Busbee was born in Vienna in Dooly County in south central Georgia and attended Georgia Military College and Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College]] before joining the [[United States Navy|Navy]]. After his discharge, he completed his education at the [[University of Georgia School of Law]] in [[Athens, Georgia|Athens]], where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity and the Phi Kappa Literary Society, having procured a bachelor's degree in 1949 and a law degree in 1952.
Establishing a law practice in [[Albany, Georgia|Albany]], Busbee served nine terms in the [[Georgia General Assembly|Georgia House of Representatives]] and was floor leader for Governor [[Carl Sanders]]. In 1967, Busbee was one of thirty [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] in the legislature who voted for the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Howard Callaway]] in the disputed [[Georgia gubernatorial election, 1966|1966 gubernatorial race]], rather than the Democratic nominee [[Lester Maddox]], a [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregationist]] from [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]]. The legislature, acting under the 1824 Georgia Constitution, upheld by the [[United States Supreme Court]], chose Maddox 182 to 66.<ref>Billy Hathorn, "The Frustration of Opportunity: Georgia Republicans and the Election of 1966", ''[[Atlanta History: A Journal of Georgia and the South]]'', XXX (Winter 1987-1988), p. 47</ref>
In 1974, Busbee won the Democratic [[nomination]] for governor in [[Jimmy Carter]]'s final year in that office. In the party runoff, he defeated, 551,106 (59.9 percent) to 369,608 (40.1 percent), former governor and sitting [[Lieutenant Governor of Georgia|Lieutenant Governor]] Lester Maddox, the man whom Busbee had voted against in the legislative election for governor some seven years earlier. In the fall of 1974, Busbee handily defeated [[Ronnie Thompson (Georgia politician)|Ronnie Thompson]], the first Republican to have served as [[mayor]] of [[Macon, Georgia|Macon]]. In 1976, voters approved a wholesale revision of the Georgia Constitution, which included a provision that allowed Busbee to become the state's first governor to serve two consecutive four-year terms. He won election to his second term in 1978 with an easy victory over [[moderate Republican]] [[Rodney Mims Cook, Sr.|Rodney Cook]] of Atlanta.<ref>[http://www.newgeorgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?path=/GovernmentPolitics/Politics/PoliticalFigures&id=h-595 ''New Georgia Encyclopedia'' profile of George Busbee]</ref>
After his service as Governor, Busbee joined the Atlanta law firm [[King & Spalding]] and moved to the Atlanta suburb of [[Duluth, Georgia|Duluth]].
Busbee was married to the former Mary Elizabeth "Mary Beth" Talbot (1927-2012), originally from [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]] in north [[Louisiana]]. The sixth child of a country physician, Dr. and Mrs. B. H. Talbot, she graduated from [[Louisiana Tech University]] with a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in biological sciences and also did graduate work in pathology at [[Charity Hospital (New Orleans)|Charity Hospital]] in [[New Orleans]]. She moved to Georgia to work as a medical technician at Athens General Hospital in Athens, where she met George Busbee, then a law student. In 1952, they relocated to Albany, where they remained until his inauguration as governor in January 1975. As First Lady of Georgia, Mrs. Busbee was known for her emphasis on volunteerism. In 1985, she co-authored a cookbook, ''Guess Who's Coming to Dinner,'' about favorite recipes and guests served at the governor's mansion during her eight years there. Mrs. Busbee was a 40-year cancer survivor.<ref name=mbbusbee/>
The Busbees had four children, Beth Kindt and husband John, Jan Curtis and husband Carlton, George D. Busbee, Jr., and wife Tammy, and Jeff Busbee and wife Kelly. After the governorship, the Busbees started a church in their home while they resided in Duluth. That congregation is now the Parkway Baptist Church.<ref name=mbbusbee>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/atlanta/obituary.aspx?pid=156251515#fbLoggedOut|title=Mary Beth Busbee|publisher=''[[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]'', March 5, 2012|accessdate=April 19, 2013}}</ref>
Busbee died of a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] at the [[Savannah International Airport]] in [[Savannah, Georgia|Savannah]]. George Busbee Parkway and Busbee Drive in the [[Town Center at Cobb|Town Center Mall]] area of [[Cobb County, Georgia|Cobb County]] are named in his honor.
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Busbee, George}}
[[Category:Georgia]]
[[Category:Attorneys]]
[[Category:State Representatives]]
[[Category:Former Governors]]
[[Category:Democratic Governors]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:United States Navy]]
[[Category:Southern Baptists]]
|name=George Dekle Busbee, Sr.
|image=George Busbee of GA.jpg
|office=77th [[Governor]] of [[Georgia]]
|term_start=January 14, 1975
|term_end=January 11, 1983
|lieutenant=[[Zell Miller]]
|preceded=[[Jimmy Carter]]
|succeeded=Joe Frank Harris
|birth_date=August 7, 1927
|birth_place=Vienna, Dooly County, Georgia
|death_date=July 16, 2004 (aged 76)
|death_place=Savannah International Airport in Savannah, Georgia
|death_cause=[[Heart attack]]
|alma_mater=Georgia Military College<br>Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College<br>[[University of Georgia]] (Bachelor's and law degrees)
|spouse=Mary Elizabeth Talbot Busbee (married 1949-2004, his death)
|children=Beth B. Kindt<br>
Jan B. Curtis<br>
George D. Busbee, Jr.<br>
Jeff Busbee
|occupation=[[Attorney]]
|party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
|religion=[[Southern Baptist]]
|branch=[[United States Navy]]
}}
'''George Dekle Busbee, Sr.''' (August 7, 1927 – July 16, 2004), was the 77th [[Governor]] of his native [[Georgia]], the first governor to serve two consecutive terms from 1975-1983. He succeeded [[Jimmy Carter]] the year before Carter was elected as [[U.S. President]] and defeated [[Lester Maddox]] to win the 1974 [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] gubernatorial nominee. He then swamped [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[Ronnie Thompson]] in the [[general election]].
==Life and career==
Busbee was born in Vienna in Dooly County in south central Georgia and attended Georgia Military College and Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College]] before joining the [[United States Navy|Navy]]. After his discharge, he completed his education at the [[University of Georgia School of Law]] in [[Athens, Georgia|Athens]], where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity and the Phi Kappa Literary Society, having procured a bachelor's degree in 1949 and a law degree in 1952.
Establishing a law practice in [[Albany, Georgia|Albany]], Busbee served nine terms in the [[Georgia General Assembly|Georgia House of Representatives]] and was floor leader for Governor [[Carl Sanders]]. In 1967, Busbee was one of thirty [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] in the legislature who voted for the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Howard Callaway]] in the disputed [[Georgia gubernatorial election, 1966|1966 gubernatorial race]], rather than the Democratic nominee [[Lester Maddox]], a [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregationist]] from [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]]. The legislature, acting under the 1824 Georgia Constitution, upheld by the [[United States Supreme Court]], chose Maddox 182 to 66.<ref>Billy Hathorn, "The Frustration of Opportunity: Georgia Republicans and the Election of 1966", ''[[Atlanta History: A Journal of Georgia and the South]]'', XXX (Winter 1987-1988), p. 47</ref>
In 1974, Busbee won the Democratic [[nomination]] for governor in [[Jimmy Carter]]'s final year in that office. In the party runoff, he defeated, 551,106 (59.9 percent) to 369,608 (40.1 percent), former governor and sitting [[Lieutenant Governor of Georgia|Lieutenant Governor]] Lester Maddox, the man whom Busbee had voted against in the legislative election for governor some seven years earlier. In the fall of 1974, Busbee handily defeated [[Ronnie Thompson (Georgia politician)|Ronnie Thompson]], the first Republican to have served as [[mayor]] of [[Macon, Georgia|Macon]]. In 1976, voters approved a wholesale revision of the Georgia Constitution, which included a provision that allowed Busbee to become the state's first governor to serve two consecutive four-year terms. He won election to his second term in 1978 with an easy victory over [[moderate Republican]] [[Rodney Mims Cook, Sr.|Rodney Cook]] of Atlanta.<ref>[http://www.newgeorgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?path=/GovernmentPolitics/Politics/PoliticalFigures&id=h-595 ''New Georgia Encyclopedia'' profile of George Busbee]</ref>
After his service as Governor, Busbee joined the Atlanta law firm [[King & Spalding]] and moved to the Atlanta suburb of [[Duluth, Georgia|Duluth]].
Busbee was married to the former Mary Elizabeth "Mary Beth" Talbot (1927-2012), originally from [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]] in north [[Louisiana]]. The sixth child of a country physician, Dr. and Mrs. B. H. Talbot, she graduated from [[Louisiana Tech University]] with a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in biological sciences and also did graduate work in pathology at [[Charity Hospital (New Orleans)|Charity Hospital]] in [[New Orleans]]. She moved to Georgia to work as a medical technician at Athens General Hospital in Athens, where she met George Busbee, then a law student. In 1952, they relocated to Albany, where they remained until his inauguration as governor in January 1975. As First Lady of Georgia, Mrs. Busbee was known for her emphasis on volunteerism. In 1985, she co-authored a cookbook, ''Guess Who's Coming to Dinner,'' about favorite recipes and guests served at the governor's mansion during her eight years there. Mrs. Busbee was a 40-year cancer survivor.<ref name=mbbusbee/>
The Busbees had four children, Beth Kindt and husband John, Jan Curtis and husband Carlton, George D. Busbee, Jr., and wife Tammy, and Jeff Busbee and wife Kelly. After the governorship, the Busbees started a church in their home while they resided in Duluth. That congregation is now the Parkway Baptist Church.<ref name=mbbusbee>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/atlanta/obituary.aspx?pid=156251515#fbLoggedOut|title=Mary Beth Busbee|publisher=''[[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]'', March 5, 2012|accessdate=April 19, 2013}}</ref>
Busbee died of a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] at the [[Savannah International Airport]] in [[Savannah, Georgia|Savannah]]. George Busbee Parkway and Busbee Drive in the [[Town Center at Cobb|Town Center Mall]] area of [[Cobb County, Georgia|Cobb County]] are named in his honor.
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Busbee, George}}
[[Category:Georgia]]
[[Category:Attorneys]]
[[Category:State Representatives]]
[[Category:Former Governors]]
[[Category:Democratic Governors]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:United States Navy]]
[[Category:Southern Baptists]]