Pete Thomas Cenarrusa (December 16, 1917 – September 29, 2013) was an American politician from

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

. He served continuously for over half a century in elective office, first as a member of the

Idaho Legislature The Idaho Legislature consists of the upper Idaho Senate and the lower Idaho House of Representatives. Idaho is divided into 35 legislative districts, which each elect one senator and two representatives. There are no term limits for either cha ...

and then as Secretary of State.

Early life and education

Born in

Carey, Idaho Carey is a city in Blaine County, Idaho, United States. The population was 604 at the 2010 census. Carey is primarily an agricultural city and is the location of the Blaine County Fairgrounds. Nearby recreational destinations include the Crat ...

, Cenarrusa graduated from the territorial school in

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to: Placenames Australia * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales Canada ...

and attended 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 University ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, where he was a member of the Vandals'

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

team and the

Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as or Teke, is a social college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899, at Illinois Wesleyan University. The organization has chapters throughout the United States and Canada, making the Fraternity an internat ...

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in agriculture in 1940 and taught math and science and coached in Carey,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, and

Glenns Ferry Glenns Ferry is a city in Elmore County, Idaho, United States. The population was 1,319 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Interstate 84 and the Snake River. History Glenns Ferry was one of the most famous and treacherous river cro ...

. During

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 ...

, Cenarrusa was an aviator in the

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

Career

Politics

Cenarrusa was elected to the Idaho House of Representatives from Blaine County in 1950. He served in that capacity for 16 years, including six as speaker of the house. In 1967, Cenarrusa was appointed Secretary of State by Governor

Don Samuelson Donald William Samuelson (July 27, 1913 – January 20, 2000) was an American Republican politician who served as the 25th governor of Idaho, from 1967 to 1971. He is the state's most recent incumbent governor to lose a re-election bid (1970). ...

to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Edson H. Deal, and took office on May 1. Cenarussa was elected to a full term in 1970. He was reelected seven times (1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, and 1998). Cenarrusa did not run for reelection in 2002, instead supporting his longtime chief deputy,

Ben Ysursa Ben T. Ysursa (born June 10, 1949) is an American attorney and politician who served as the Secretary of State of Idaho from 2003 to 2015. Early life and education A native of Boise, Idaho, Ysursa graduated from Bishop Kelly High School in 1967 ...

. Upon leaving office Cenarrusa was the longest-serving secretary of state in the United States. Cenarrusa is also the longest-serving elected public official in Idaho history, having held elective office for a total of 52 years.The Public Career of Pete Cenarrusa
(accessed 17 January 2012)

Basque activism

The son of Basque immigrants from Bizkaia and a native speaker of the Basque language, Cenarrusa has been a longtime proponent of increased

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ...

in the Basque Country, particularly in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. In the 1970s he worked with the Democratic U.S. Senator from Idaho,

Frank Church Frank Forrester Church III (July 25, 1924 – April 7, 1984) was an Americans, American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Idah ...

, in an effort to curtail foreign aid to the

Franco regime Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

. Cenarrusa has also appealed for

clemency A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...

for Basque

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

s in Spain. In 2003, Pete and Freda Cenarrusa organized the Cenarrusa Foundation for Basque Culture (originally the Cenarrusa Center for Basque Studies), which promotes the culture and history of the

Basques The Basques ( or ; eu, euskaldunak ; es, vascos ; french: basques ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Bas ...

by providing resources for performances, presentations and programs and to organizations throughout Idaho and Oregon. Cenarussa was instrumental in the founding of the Basque Studies Program at

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

in 2006.Pete Cenarrusa Biography
(accessed 17 January 2012)

Death

After a three-year battle with cancer, Cenarrusa died in Boise His funeral was at St. John's Cathedral in Boise and he was buried in Blaine County, at the Bellevue Cemetery in Bellevue.

Legacy

A state office building near the

state capitol This is a list of state and territorial capitols in the United States, the building or complex of buildings from which the government of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia and the organized territories of the United States, exercise its ...

was named for him in 1998. Built in the late-1970s, it is on the site of the old St. Alphonsus Hospital, which was vacated in 1972 and demolished a few years later. It is opposite the

state supreme court In the United States, a state supreme court (known by #Terminology, other names in some states) is the supreme court, highest court in the State court (United States), state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of State law (United States), st ...

building on State Street.

References

External links

The Cenarrusa Foundation for Basque CultureUniversity of Idaho
– Pete Cenarrusa
Boise State University - Albertsons Library
– Pete Cenarrusa collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Cenarrusa, Pete T. 1917 births 2013 deaths American people of Basque descent Secretaries of State of Idaho People from Carey, Idaho Speakers of the Idaho House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Idaho House of Representatives University of Idaho alumni 2004 United States presidential electors