Nils Boe

Nils Andreas Boe (September 10, 1913 – July 30, 1992) was an American attorney who served as the 23rd Governor of South Dakota from 1965 to 1969. He served as a judge of the United States Customs Court, later the United States Court of International Trade.

Early life and education

Boe was born in Baltic in Minnehaha County, South Dakota. He was the youngest son of Lutheran minister Nils N. Boe (1861–1938) and Sissel Catherine Finseth (1874–1960), both immigrants from Norway. He received an Artium Baccalaureus degree in 1935 from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he was a member of the track team, and received a Bachelor of Laws in 1937 from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Boe served as a lieutenant in the United States Navy during World War II.

Career

Boe was later elected to the state legislature representing Sioux Falls from 1953 to 1958. In 1962, following the state's primary elections, Lieutenant Governor Joseph H. Bottum was appointed by Governor Archie M. Gubbrud to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by Francis H. Case's death. Bottum's appointment created both a vacancy in the lieutenant governorship and in the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor in the 1962 elections. At a state convention on July 16, 1962, Boe was named as the replacement lieutenant-gubernatorial nominee. Several days later, Governor Gubbrud appointed Boe to fill the vacancy in the lieutenant governorship, and Boe was sworn in on July 20. He was re-elected later that fall.

In 1964, when Governor Gubbrud declined to seek a third term, Boe ran to succeed him. Upon his victory, Boe, who was unmarried, was South Dakota's only bachelor governor. His sister, Borghild Marie Boe (1906-1994), served as the state's official hostess during his term in office.

The Boe administration improved the state's reservoir system, enacted a worker training program to attract new industry to South Dakota, increased state aid to schools, and created a retirement program for state employees. The administration also was noteworthy for advocating property tax cuts and starting the state's educational television system.

After leaving office, Boe was appointed by President Richard Nixon as the first director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs in the Executive Office of the President of the United States from 1969 to 1971.

Legacy

In 1971, members of the Boe family had established an endowment at Augustana College (now Augustana University) for the Center for Western Studies to support a non-partisan lecture series. Nils Boe is memorialized by The Boe Forum on Public Affairs conducted annually at Augustana University.