| Bill Waller | |
|---|---|
| 55th Governor of Mississippi | |
| In office January 18, 1972 – January 20, 1976 |
|
| Lieutenant | Bill Winter |
| Preceded by | John Bell Williams |
| Succeeded by | Cliff Finch |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 21, 1926 Lafayette County, Mississippi |
| Died | November 30, 2011 (aged 85) Jackson, Mississippi |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Religion | Baptist |
William Lowe "Bill" Waller, Sr. (October 21, 1926 – November 30, 2011) was an American politician. A Democrat, Waller served as the Governor of Mississippi from 1972 to 1976. As a local prosecutor, he unsuccessfully prosecuted Byron De La Beckwith in the murder of civil rights advocate Medgar Evers (the first two murder trials of De La Beckwith both in 1964 ended in hung juries and subsequently because De La Beckwith was never acquitted in these trials, he was later eligible to be prosecuted again). In 1994, De La Beckwith was found guilty of the murder.
In 1971, Waller defeated Lieutenant Governor Charles L. Sullivan in the Democratic primary run-off. His main opponent in the general election was Evers' brother, James Charles Evers, then the mayor of Fayette, who ran as an independent. Waller handily prevailed, 601,222 (77 percent) to Evers' 172,762 (22.1 percent).
Waller is credited with successfully winning elections without using racially charged or racially offensive rhetoric. He organized working class white voters and African American voters separately and usually did not merge their election efforts until it was too late in the election cycle for internal conflicts to disrupt the campaign. Waller effectively shut-down the segregationist Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission by vetoing its appropriation while he was governor. He appointed many blacks to positions in state government.
After leaving office, Waller lost the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate in 1978 and for governor again in 1987. He practiced law in Jackson for several years.
His son is the Hon. William L. Waller, Jr., Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court.[1]
On November 30, 2011, Waller died at St. Dominic Hospital in Jackson of heart failure after being admitted the previous night. He was 85.[2][3]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Bell Williams |
Governor of Mississippi 1972–1976 |
Succeeded by Cliff Finch |