Nils Boe

Nils Andreas Boe (September 10, 1913 – July 30, 1992) was an American politician who served as the 23rd Governor of South Dakota from 1965 to 1969.

Background

Boe was born in Baltic in Minnehaha County, South Dakota. He was the son of Lutheran minister Nils N. Boe and Sissel Catherine Finseth, both immigrants from Norway.^[1] He was a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1935), where he was a member of the track team, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School (1937). Boe served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

Career

Boe was later elected to the state legislature representing Sioux Falls from 1953 to 1958. He was the 28th Lieutenant Governor from 1963 to 1965 and Governor from 1965 to 1969.

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. The legislature also passed laws prohibiting employment discrimination against women and guaranteeing women equal wages for equal work.

After leaving office, Boe was appointed by Richard M. Nixon as the first director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs in the Executive Office of the President of the United States 1969 to 1971, and then was appointed by Nixon as the Chief Judge of the U.S. Customs Court, New York City which he served 1971-1984. He died of cancer at Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

References

External links

• Governor's Information
• Portrait of Nils Boe