Norman Arthur Erbe (October 25, 1919 – June 8, 2000) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 35th governor of Iowa, holding the position from 1961 to 1963.

Biography

He was born in

Boone, Iowa Boone ( ) is a city in Des Moines Township, Boone County, Iowa, Des Moines Township, and county seat of Boone County, Iowa, Boone County, Iowa, United States. It is the principal city of the Boone, Iowa Micropolitan Statistical Area, which encom ...

. He served as an infantry officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

from 1941 to 1943. He then transferred to 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 ...

as a pilot, spending the rest 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 opposin ...

as a pilot. After the war, he studied at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

, obtaining a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

in 1947. He entered state politics, serving as

Iowa Attorney General The Attorney General of Iowa is the chief legal officer of the State of Iowa, United States. The office was created February 9, 1853. The Office of the Attorney General is housed in the Lucas State Office Building in Des Moines; the attorney gen ...

from 1957 to 1961 before succeeding

Herschel C. Loveless Herschel Cellel Loveless (May 5, 1911May 4, 1989) was the 34th Governor of Iowa, from 1957 to 1961. He was also mayor of Ottumwa, Iowa. He was born in 1911 in Hedrick, Iowa and died in 1989 in Winchester, Virginia. When elected governor in 195 ...

as governor. In the 1962 election he was defeated for re-election by Harold E. Hughes. He hosted the world premiere of the motion picture

Meredith Willson Robert Reiniger Meredith Willson (May 18, 1902 – June 15, 1984) was an American flutist, composer, conductor, musical arranger, bandleader, playwright, and writer. He is perhaps best known for writing the book, music, and lyrics for the 195 ...

The Music Man (1962 film) ''The Music Man'' is a 1962 American musical film directed and produced by Morton DaCosta, based on Meredith Willson's 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, which DaCosta also directed. Robert Preston reprises the title role from the stage ...

in Mason City, Iowa. After leaving politics, he served as Executive Vice-President of the

Associated Builders and Contractors Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is a national U.S. trade association representing the non-union construction industry. ABC is an association of 69 chapters with more than 22,000 commercial contractors and construction-related firms amon ...

in 1979. He published his memoirs, ''Ringside at the Fireworks'', in 1997. He died on June 8, 2000, and is buried in the Linwood Park cemetery in

. Erbe presided over the last two state executions in

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, that of

Charles Brown and Charles Kelley Charles Noel Brown (June 21, 1933 – July 24, 1962) and Charles Edwin Kelley (February 17, 1941 – September 6, 1962) were American spree killers who killed three people and wounded three others in a five-day, three-state rampage in February 1 ...

. In a 1995 interview, Erbe said that while he had no second thoughts over the executions, he did not believe

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

was a deterrent.

References

External links

National Governors Association Biography: Norman Arthur Erbe
1919 births 2000 deaths American Lutherans Republican Party governors of Iowa Iowa Attorneys General People from Boone, Iowa United States Army officers United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II University of Iowa College of Law alumni 20th-century American politicians 20th-century Lutherans Military personnel from Iowa {{Iowa-politician-stub

Biography

See also

References

External links