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Robert Eben Smylie (October 31, 1914 – July 17, 2004) was an American politician and attorney 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 Wyomi ...
. A member of the
Idaho Republican Party The Idaho Republican Party (IDGOP) is the Idaho state affiliate of the United States Republican Party, headquartered in Boise. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling both of Idaho's U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seat ...
, he served as the 24th
governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of Idaho for twelve years, from 1955 to 1967. He was the first Governor of Idaho who was born in the 20th century.


Early life and education

Born in
Marcus, Iowa Marcus is a city in Cherokee County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,079 at the time of the 2020 census. History The first building in Marcus was erected in 1871. Marcus was incorporated on May 15, 1882. Geography Marcus is located ...
, Smylie graduated from high school in Cresco in 1932 at the height of the Great Depression. Offered a place to live by an uncle, in 1934, he moved to Idaho to attend the College of Idaho in Caldwell. During the school year, he participated in speech and debate, the yearbook, football, and student government, and received a scholarship from the
National Youth Administration The National Youth Administration (NYA) was a New Deal agency sponsored by Franklin D. Roosevelt during his presidency. It focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 25. It operated from June 26, 1935 to ...
for working as a secretary for the Department of Philosophy and Religion. At The College of Idaho, Smylie studied
Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
and developed his initial interests in current events—attending a political rally for John Hamilton, Franklin D. Roosevelt's republican opponent for the US Presidency in 1936, attending Roosevelt's visit to The College of Idaho in 1937, and competing in debate and oratory events at the Pi Kappa Delta National Tournament at Washburn University in Topeka, KS in 1938, the year of his graduation. During his college years, Smylie concluded that hitchhiking was "a thoroughly respectable manner of travel," and would hitchhike back to Iowa in the summers.


Career

After graduating from law school in 1938, he moved to
Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
, where he simultaneously clerked at the law firm of Covington Burling, was a
United States Capitol Police The United States Capitol Police (USCP) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States with nationwide jurisdiction charged with protecting the United States Congress within the District of Columbia and throughout the United States an ...
officer, and attended George Washington University Law School until his graduation in 1942. Having begun practicing law in Washington, D.C., Smylie left his practice in 1942 to join the
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...
as a lawyer and was stationed in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
and the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
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 opposing ...
. He returned to his private practice in 1946.


Attorney general of Idaho

In January 1947, Smylie became a deputy attorney general in Idaho, under newly-elected
Robert Ailshie Robert Ailshie (February 16, 1908 – November 16, 1947) was an American attorney and politician from Idaho who served as the state's 20th attorney general for less than eleven months in 1947. His father, James Ailshie (1868–1947), was a justi ...
. That November, Ailshie unexpectedly died of a heart attack at age 39; Smylie was appointed attorney general at age 33 by Governor C. A. Robins, and was elected to a full four-year term in 1950.


Governor of Idaho

Smylie ran for governor in 1954, as the seat was not eligible for re-election at the time and was held by Republican Len Jordan. Starting with the 1946 election, Idaho changed from two-year to four-year terms for governor, but with the change it disallowed self-succession (re-election). Smylie was elected governor at age forty in 1954 and successfully lobbied the 1955 legislature to propose an amendment to the state constitution to allow gubernatorial re-election, which was approved by voters in the 1956 general election. Smylie, the first Idaho governor born in the 20th century, was re-elected in
1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
and 
1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...
. During his tenure, a state park system was created, and a sales tax adopted. In February 1955, following a prompt from a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
reporter, Smylie fast-tracked legislation to remove the anomaly of Idaho being the only one of the 48 states that did not observe
George Washington's Birthday Presidents' Day, also called Washington's Birthday at the federal governmental level, is a holiday in the United States celebrated on the third Monday of February to honor all persons who served as presidents of the United States and, since 1879 ...
as a holiday. While governor, Smylie served as chair of the
Western Governors Association The Western Governors' Association (WGA) is a non-partisan organization of all 22 United States governors (representing 19 U.S. states and 3 U.S. territories) that are considered to be part of the Western region of the nation. The WGA also invite ...
(1959–1961) and as chair of the
Republican Governors Association The Republican Governors Association (RGA) is a Washington, D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1961, consisting of U.S. state and territorial Republican governors. The Republican Governors Association is dedicated to one primary objective: e ...
. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1960. Smylie served on the National Governor's Conference Executive Committee from 1956 to 1957, from 1959 to 1960, and in 1963. Smylie ran for a fourth term in 1966, but was soundly defeated (61–39%) in the Republican primary by his successor, Don Samuelson, whom he had encouraged to run for the
state senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...
six years earlier. Smylie attributed his support of the newly implemented sales tax of three per cent in 1965 as a major factor in his defeat. The sales tax was easily approved by voters in the November election; it stayed at three per cent until and is now


Later career

Leaving the governor's office after a dozen years at age 52, Smylie returned to the practice of law in 1967. He served as trustee, chair of trustees, and as acting president of the College of Idaho.


1972 U.S. Senate election

Smylie was a candidate for the 1972 United States Senate election in Idaho, but finished fourth in the Republican primary, won by Jim McClure.


Personal life

Smylie married Lucile Irwin on December 4, 1943 and the couple had two sons. Smylie died in Boise at age 89 on July 17, 2004, and his wife Lucile died less than six weeks later. They are interred at Pioneer Cemetery in Boise. Lucile's sister Virgil was the widow of D. Worth Clark, Democratic U.S. Senator from Idaho.


References


External links


Papers of Robert E. Smylie, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
*
Basque Museum
– obituary from the ''
Idaho Statesman The ''Idaho Statesman'' is the daily newspaper of Boise, Idaho, in the western United States. It is owned by The McClatchy Company. History The paper was first published as the ''Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman'' on July 26, 1864, by James S. Reynolds ...
''
National Governors Association
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Smylie, Robert E. 1914 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians Methodists from Iowa College of Idaho alumni George Washington University Law School alumni Republican Party governors of Idaho Idaho Attorneys General Idaho lawyers People from Cherokee County, Iowa People from Cresco, Iowa People from Boise, Idaho Military personnel from Iowa United States Capitol Police officers Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Methodists from Idaho