George S. Mickelson | |
|---|---|
 Mickelson in May 1989 | |
| 28thGovernor of South Dakota | |
| In office January 6, 1987 – April 19, 1993 | |
| Lieutenant | Walter Dale Miller |
| Preceded by | Bill Janklow |
| Succeeded by | Walter Dale Miller |
| Personal details | |
| Born | George Speaker Mickelson (1941-01-31)January 31, 1941 Mobridge, South Dakota, U.S. |
| Died | April 19, 1993(1993-04-19) (aged 52) |
| Cause of death | Plane crash |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | Linda McCahren |
| Relatives | George Theodore Mickelson (father) Mark Mickelson (son) |
| Education | University of South Dakota(BA,JD) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
George Speaker Mickelson (January 31, 1941 – April 19, 1993) was an American politician andVietnam War veteran who served as the28th governor of South Dakota from 1987 until his death in 1993 in a plane crash nearZwingle, Iowa.
His father,George T. Mickelson, was also governor of South Dakota, from 1947 to 1951. To date, the Mickelsons are the only father-son duo to have held that office.[1] He is a member of the prominentMickelson family ofSouth Dakota.
Mickelson was born inMobridge, South Dakota. His grandfather was a Norwegian immigrant.[2] His parents,George Theodore Mickelson and Madge Mickelson, were theGovernor and First Lady of South Dakota from 1947 to 1951.
Mickelson graduated from theUniversity of South Dakota with a bachelor's in business administration in 1963 and from theUniversity of South Dakota School of Law in 1965. He was a brother inLambda Chi Alpha fraternity at USD. He served in theUnited States Army, including a tour of duty inVietnam.[1] He married Linda McCahren and they had three children, Amy, David and Mark.[3]
Mickelson served as South Dakota State Assistant Attorney General (1967–68) and South Dakota State Attorney,Brookings County (1971–74). First elected to theSouth Dakota House of Representatives in 1974, he held office there for six years, serving as Speaker for the final two years. Mickelson was elected governor in 1986 and reelected four years later.[1]
On April 19, 1993, Mickelson was one of eight people aboard a state-owned airplane returning to South Dakota from a lobbying effort in Ohio. The plane, aMitsubishi MU-2turboprop, reported engine trouble while flying nearDubuque, Iowa, and crashed into a farm silo about four miles south ofZwingle.[4] Everyone on the plane was killed.[4][5]
Mickelson was succeeded as governor by then-Lieutenant GovernorWalter Dale Miller.[6]
George S. Mickelson Middle School inBrookings is named after him, as is theGeorge S. Mickelson Trail in theBlack Hills and the George S. Mickelson Center for the Neurosciences inYankton, South Dakota. The George S. Mickelson Education Center at Southeast Technical Institute inSioux Falls, South Dakota, was built in 1990. The George S. Mickelson Great Service Award is given out annually by the South Dakota Office of Tourism. His alma mater, the University of South Dakota, awards South Dakota students with high ACTs/SATs a full-tuition scholarship, known as the George S. Mickelson Scholarship. It is the university's most prestigious scholarship.[7]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Speaker of the South Dakota House of Representatives 1979–1980 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of South Dakota 1987–1993 | |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of South Dakota 1986,1990 | Succeeded by |
| Governors |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Lieutenant governors | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
