Bill Clements
William Perry Clements, Jr., known as Bill Clements (April 13, 1917 â May 29, 2011), was an American businessman, university executive, and politician from his native Dallas, Texas. After making his fortune in petroleum through the SEDCO Company, Clements served as the first Republican governor of his state in 105 years, with two nonconsecutive terms from 1979 to 1983 and 1987 to 1991.
| William Perry "Bill" Clements, Jr. | |
| In office January 20, 1987 â January 15, 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Mark White |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Ann Richards |
| In office January 16, 1979 â January 18, 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Dolph Briscoe |
| Succeeded by | Mark White |
United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
| |
| In office January 30, 1973 â January 20, 1977 | |
| President | Richard Nixon Gerald Ford |
| Preceded by | Kenneth Rush |
| Succeeded by | Charles Duncan, Jr. |
| Born | April 13, 1917 Dallas, Texas |
| Died | May 29, 2011 (aged 94) Dallas, Texas |
| Resting place | Grove Hill Memorial Park in Dallas |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Pauline Allen Gill (divorced) (2) Rita Crocker Clements |
| Children | From first marriage: B. Gill Clements (1941â2010) |
| Residence | Dallas, Texas |
| Alma mater | Southern Methodist University (dropped out) |
| Occupation | Petroleum driller |
| Religion | United Methodist |
He was earlier the Deputy Secretary of Defense for the Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford administrations, with partial service under Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, whom whom Clements sometimes quarreled. He was later the chairman of the board governors at Southern Methodist University, which he had briefly attended as a student in his earlier years.
In his first attempt at reelection in 1982, the last year that Texas Democrats won all statewide offices, Clements was unseated by his political rival, Mark White, then the Texas attorney general. Clements was hurt by a decline that year in the petroleum industry in which he had become a multi-millionaire. Ernest Angelo, a former mayor of Midland who was a Texas co-chair of Ronald W. Reagan's attempt in 1976 to wrest the Republican presidential nomination from Gerald Ford, said that Clements' defeat in 1982 was his own greatest disappointment in politics even though Angelo himself lost a bid for the Texas State Senate in that same election.[1] Clements, however, turned the tables on White in the 1986 gubernatorial general election, when he won a second term in the office. Clements was considered an establishment Republican with strong conservative appeal. He claimed to oppose abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or if the life of the woman bearing the child would be threatened by carrying the pregnancy to term.
Clements' second term was marred by a football slush fund scandal at SMU, with questionable payments "phased out" but still continued for some time because pf prior commitments to the athletes. The scandal caused the NCAA to cancel football at SMU in the 1987 season, and team did not compete in 1988 as well. It was not until 2009 that SMU received a subsequent bowl invitation. The isse brough Clements at loggerheads with then SMU President L. Donald Shields.[2]
The 15-story-high William P. Clements State Office Building at 300 West 15th Street in the capital city of Austin is named in his honor.
References
- â Billy Hathorn, "Mayor Ernest Angelo Jr. of Midland and the 96â0 Reagan Sweep of Texas, May 1, 1976," [West Texas Historical Association Yearbook, now known as West Texas Historical Review, Vol. 86 (2010), pp. 82-83.
- â T. James Munoz (March 11, 1987). Clements apologizes for SMU role; governor fails to name others involved in football payments. The Washington Post. Retrieved on October 7, 2017.