Robert W. Ward | |
|---|---|
 Ward in 1970 | |
| 1st Lieutenant Governor of Alaska | |
| In office August 25, 1970 – December 7, 1970 | |
| Governor | Keith Harvey Miller |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | H. A. Boucher |
| Secretary of State of Alaska | |
| In office January 29, 1969 – August 25, 1970 | |
| Governor | Keith Harvey Miller |
| Preceded by | Keith Harvey Miller |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Walter Ward (1929-11-26)November 26, 1929 Addy, Washington, U.S. |
| Died | April 3, 1997(1997-04-03) (aged 67) Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
Robert Walter Ward[1] (November 26, 1929 – April 3, 1997)[1][2] was an Americanelectrician, businessman, and government executive, andRepublican politician from theU.S. state ofAlaska. He was the third Secretary of State ofAlaska from 1969 to 1970, and was the last person to serve under that title, as the title was changed tolieutenant governor by aconstitutional amendment passed by voters on August 25, 1970, making him the first lieutenant governor of Alaska.[1]
Robert Ward was born inAddy, Washington, to Floyd and Eunice Ward, and grew up in northeastern Washington.[1] He moved toKetchikan, Alaska, in 1954 to work as an electrician at theKetchikan Pulp Company,[1][2] who had opened a pulp mill in the community that same year. Ward remained with Ketchikan Pulp until 1966, becoming head of the electrical department.[1]
Ward began his political career when he was elected to the Ketchikan city council in 1961. He later became the firstchairman of theKetchikan Gateway Borough when it was established in late 1963.[1][2]
Newly electedGovernorWalter Hickel appointed Ward as Alaska commissioner of administration in late 1966. It was in this position that he became the Secretary of State. One of the responsibilities of Alaska's governor is to craft an order of succession from amongst the cabinet officers. When Hickel resigned to become theU.S. Secretary of the Interior,Keith Miller, the elected Secretary of State, became governor. Ward, as the next in line, became Secretary of State.[1]
Ward, running along with Miller for a full term, were defeated by theslate ofBill Egan andRed Boucher in the 1970 election. He later made another unsuccessful attempt at regaining the position, and was also an unsuccessful candidate formayor of Juneau in 1988,[2] which was won byBruce Botelho.
His later service in government included stints as head of the Alaska Power Administration, a federal agency, and as a member of the first board of directors of theAlaska Permanent Fund Corporation.[1][2]
Ward was appointed commissioner of theAlaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities by GovernorJay Hammond on October 24, 1978.[3] The department had been created the previous year by Hammond by merging the Departments of Highways and Public Works.
Ward left state service in 1982, and worked as a lobbyist in Juneau. He was diagnosed withleukemia in January 1996. His last public act was serving as apresidential elector in the1996 election. He interrupted the treatment he was undergoing inSeattle for his leukemia in order to participate in the balloting.[2] He died on April 3, 1997, in Seattle, where he was still undergoing treatment.[1]
Robert Ward married Peggie Garske ofIone, Washington, in 1949.[1] They divorced[4] in 1973. They had three children: Kenneth, Robert Jr. and Karen. He married Beverly Ann Wilson on June 26, 1976, and remained with her until his death.
Kenneth Ward established a commuter airline,Ward Air. Robert Ward, Jr. was a candidate for a Ketchikan-area seat in theAlaska House of Representatives in the 1980s, and is currently thecity manager ofSkagway, Alaska.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor ofAlaska 1970 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Position established | Lieutenant Governor of Alaska 1970 | Succeeded by |
