Keith Harvey Miller (March 1, 1925 – March 2, 2019) was an American

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

from

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

. Miller was the second secretary of state of Alaska under

Walter Hickel Walter Joseph Hickel (August 18, 1919 – May 7, 2010) was an American businessman, real estate developer, and politician who served as the second governor of Alaska from 1966 to 1969 and 1990 to 1994 and as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from ...

. He became the third governor of Alaska after Hickel’s resignation to become

U.S. Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural ...

. Under his tenure, Alaska came into sudden wealth after an oil lease sale on the North Slope created a revenue of $900 million.

Early life

Keith Harvey Miller was born in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

on March 1, 1925, one of four sons of Hopkins Keith Miller (1901–1981) and Sarah Margaret (née Harvey) Miller (1903–1960). He grew up in the rural outskirts of Seattle before the family moved to the vicinity of Bothell, Washington in 1939. Miller attended and graduated from high school in Bothell. He briefly studied at the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The Universit ...

before joining the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

, serving during the last two years of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Early career and move to Alaska

After leaving the military, Miller established a

holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

farm in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. Europea ...

in 1946. During this time, he spent portions of several summers working in the

Territory of Alaska The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The territory was previously Russian America, 1784–1867; the ...

and also studied at the

University of Washington, Seattle The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in 1952. Miller sold the holly farm in 1953, the same year he married Diana Mary Doyle in Seattle and established a

collection agency Debt collection is the process of pursuing payments of debts owed by individuals or businesses. An organization that specializes in debt collection is known as a collection agency or debt collector. Most collection agencies operate as agents of ...

there. He sold the agency in 1957 after being hired by the Internal Revenue Service, who stationed him in Anchorage, Alaska.

Early political career

Miller began his political career in 1962 with his election to the

Alaska House of Representatives The Alaska State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of approximately 17,756 people per ...

., where he served one term. He served as Secretary of State of Alaska (now the

Lieutenant Governor of Alaska The lieutenant governor of Alaska is the deputy elected official to the governor of the U.S. state of Alaska. Unlike most lieutenant governors in the U.S., the office also maintains the duties of a secretary of state, and indeed was named suc ...

) from 1966 until Hickel resigned to become

United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natur ...

under President Richard M. Nixon, on January 29, 1969. He was promptly elevated to the position of Governor of Alaska.

Governor of Alaska

Under Governor Miller, Alaska completed the sale of land leases in

Prudhoe Bay Prudhoe Bay is a census-designated place (CDP) located in North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2010 census, the population of the CDP was 2,174 people, up from just five residents in the 2000 census; however, at any give ...

, which brought a windfall of $900 million. The funds from the oil leases were seven times the state’s budget and seven years after he first proposed an investment fund for oil royalties, Governor

Jay Hammond Jay Sterner Hammond (July 21, 1922 – August 2, 2005) was an American politician of the Republican Party, who served as the fourth governor of Alaska from 1974 to 1982. Hammond was born in Troy, New York and served as a Marine Corps fighter pil ...

established the

Alaska Permanent Fund The Alaska Permanent Fund (APF) is a constitutionally established permanent fund managed by a state-owned corporation, the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation (APFC). It was established in Alaska in 1976 by Article 9, Section 15 of the Alaska Stat ...

. He lobbied extensively for the

Trans-Alaska Pipeline The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is an oil transportation system spanning Alaska, including the trans-Alaska crude-oil pipeline, 11 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. TAPS is one o ...

. He pushed the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

to approve the pipeline over the objections of Federal Judge George Hart and the

Alaska Legislature The Alaska Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution consisting of the 40-member Alaska House of Representatives (lower house) and the 20-member Alaska Senate (upper house). There are 40 Ho ...

for funds to build a road to the

Prudhoe Bay Oil Field Prudhoe Bay Oil Field is a large oil field on Alaska's North Slope. It is the largest oil field in North America, covering and originally containing approximately of oil.

. In 1970, seeking re-election to a full term, he saw his popularity diminish as his former running mate, Walter Hickel, delayed issuance of the permit to build the pipeline. He faced a primary election challenge from two-term Congressman

Howard Wallace Pollock Howard Wallace Pollock (April 11, 1920 – January 9, 2011) was an American politician and Republican Representative from Alaska. Biography Pollock was born in Chicago to Olga (née Deblanc) and Oscar Tobias Pollock, and grew up in New Orleans. ...

. He defeated Pollock, but faced William A. Egan, who was Alaska’s first governor, in the general election. Egan won the race, 52.4-46.1. Only after the 1973 oil crisis did Congress pass the

Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act The Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act of 1973 is a United States federal law signed by US President Richard Nixon on November 16, 1973, that authorized the building of an oil pipeline connecting the North Slope of Alaska to Port Valdez. Spe ...

that Miller sought.

Later career

In 1972, Miller was elected to a four-year term in the Alaska Senate. That term was cut short due to a challenge of the redistricting plan drawn up by the

Alaska Supreme Court The Alaska Supreme Court is the state supreme court for the U.S. state of Alaska. Its decisions are binding on all other Alaska state courts, and the only court its decisions may be appealed to is the Supreme Court of the United States. The Alas ...

in 1972, centered on the apportionment of Senate districts in Anchorage. The court drew up a new plan in 1974. Rather than run for reelection in the new, Democratic-leaning district, Miller made one more campaign for governor in the Republican primary. He faced Hickel and

, who became the party’s nominee. In 1977, Governor Hammond named Miller to a seat on the Alaska Transportation Commission to serve as its chair.

Death

Miller died from pancreatic cancer while at a hospice in Anchorage a day after his 94th birthday on March 2, 2019. His wife, Jean Cuffel Miller, preceded him in death.

References

External links

Keith Miller
at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature'' , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Keith Harvey 1925 births 2019 deaths Republican Party Alaska state senators Methodists from Alaska Deaths from cancer in Alaska Deaths from pancreatic cancer Republican Party governors of Alaska Lieutenant Governors of Alaska Republican Party members of the Alaska House of Representatives Military personnel from Seattle Politicians from Seattle United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II University of Idaho alumni University of Washington alumni