Philip William Noel (born June 6, 1931) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 68th Governor of Rhode Island. He was elected in 1972, and re-elected in 1974.

Personal life

Philip Noel was born in

Warwick, Rhode Island Warwick ( or ) is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, the third largest city in the state with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is located approximately south of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, sout ...

. His parents were Joe Noel, an auto mechanic, and Emma Crudeli Noel, a jewelry worker. He attended public schools in Warwick. He was a class president at Samuel Gorton High School, and was named to Rhode Island's All-State football team during his time there. Noel took his first job at age 15, working as a commercial fisherman. Noel later accepted a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

scholarship to

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

. He transferred to

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

when Georgetown dropped its football program. He received a

degree Degree may refer to: As a unit of measurement * Degree (angle), a unit of angle measurement ** Degree of geographical latitude ** Degree of geographical longitude * Degree symbol (°), a notation used in science, engineering, and mathematics ...

in Economics from Brown in 1954, then returned to

to study Law, with the goal of joining the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

. While still in school, he obtained a job from Democratic Rhode Island Senator

John O. Pastore John Orlando Pastore (March 17, 1907July 15, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senator from Rhode Island from 1950 to 1976 and as the 61st governor of Rhode Island from 194 ...

in the Senate post office. After receiving his J.D. degree, Noel began his professional career as a solo practitioner, with law offices in

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

and Warwick. Noel married Joyce Anne Sandberg on October 20, 1956. Sandberg was

Miss Rhode Island The Miss Rhode Island competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Rhode Island in the Miss America pageant. Abby Mansolillo of Providence was crowned Miss Rhode Island 2022 on May 1st, 2022 at the McVinney Aud ...

for 1953 and participated in the 1953 Miss America pageant. She was also

Miss Rhode Island USA The Miss Rhode Island USA competition is the beauty pageant that selects the representative for the state Rhode Island in the Miss USA pageant. It is currently directed by D&D Productions. Rhode Island made its first placement at Miss USA in 19 ...

for 1954 and participated in the 1954 Miss USA pageant. They had five children.

Political career

Encouraged by Senator Pastore, Noel ran for the Warwick city council in 1958. He lost his first campaign, but was elected in 1960, and served three terms. In 1966 he was elected Mayor of Warwick, serving from 1967 to 1973 (three terms). In 1972 he mounted a successful campaign to become Governor of Rhode Island. Senator Pastore announced his retirement from the Senate in late 1975. In January 1976, Noel announced a bid for the Democratic nomination to succeed Pastore. As governor, Noel sponsored legislation creating the Rhode Island Port Authority with power to take control over Quonset Point, Davisville, and other relinquished U.S. military property. He established the Rhode Island Department of Economic Development. He sponsored legislation which established the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation (RIHMFC). Noel was tasked by

President Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...

to travel to China on a diplomatic mission.

President Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

appointed Noel to the US Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. In 1976 Noel was the Acting Chairman of the Platform Committee for that year's Democratic National Convention. He was also the Chairman of the Democratic Governors' Conference. After an unsuccessful bid for a U.S. Senate seat in 1976, Phil resumed the practice of law in Providence and Washington, became a successful real estate developer, and founded several start-up companies in the petroleum industry, most of them based in Louisiana. In his sunset years, Noel remained active in various business enterprises including a Warwick marina and country club.

Controversy

In early 1976 Noel was criticized for remarks he made characterizing the conditions of

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

in a "black

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...

". In May he stepped down as chair of the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

's Platform Committee as a response to the controversy over his remarks. Later the same month, he survived a helicopter crash on the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Island ...

campus. Noel narrowly lost the September primary election to automobile dealer Richard Lorber. Lorber lost the general election to former

United States Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the United States Department of the Navy, Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States D ...

John Chafee.

Post-political life

After he completed his term as governor, Noel returned to his law practice. Noel and his wife lived in semi-retirement in

Estero, Florida Estero is a village in Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,939. During the 2010 census, Estero was an unincorporated community, or census-designated place, the population at that time was 22,612. Est ...

. He no longer takes clients, but still does legal work for his family's various companies, including commercial real estate and a rice farm in Louisiana. Noel spends about half the year in Florida and half in Warwick, where he owns a marina and country club. He has three great-grandchildren. In 2011, Noel was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.RI Heritage Hall of Fame, ''Inductees''. Accessed 7 August 2012
/ref> His wife, former Rhode Island First Lady Joyce Anne Noel, died on February 13, 2019.

References

*
Philip William Noel at "The Political Graveyard"
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Noel, Philip W. 1931 births Democratic Party governors of Rhode Island Georgetown University Law Center alumni Rhode Island lawyers Living people People from Estero, Florida Politicians from Warwick, Rhode Island Rhode Island city council members Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents Brown Bears football players Players of American football from Rhode Island Mayors of Warwick, Rhode Island