Frank Paul Simoneaux (October 30, 1933 – May 8, 2024) was an American lawyer and politician in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who served as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

from 1972 to 1982 in the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (french: link=no, Chambre des Représentants de Louisiane) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 repr ...

. From 1980 to 1982, Simoneaux was the House Speaker Pro Tem. He resigned from the House in 1982 with more than a year remaining in his third term to become Secretary of Natural Resources in the administration of Republican Governor David C. Treen.

Life and career

Simoneaux was born in Brusly, West Baton Rouge Parish on October 30, 1933, to Henry and Ann Simoneaux. He graduated in 1954 from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. After he served for two years in the United States Army, he resumed his studies and in 1961 was named as a Phi Delta Phi honor graduate of

Louisiana State University School of Law The Paul M. Hebert Law Center, often styled "LSU Law", is a public law school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is part of the Louisiana State University System and located on the main campus of Louisiana State University. Because Louisiana is a ...

. After law school, he returned to active duty, was promoted to captain, and transferred to the Judge Advocate General Corps. Simoneaux spent thirty years of Reserve and

Louisiana National Guard The Louisiana National Guard is the armed force through which the Louisiana Military Department executes the U.S. state of Louisiana's security policy. Consisting of the Louisiana Army National Guard, a reserve component of the United States Army; ...

service and retired with the rank of colonel and as state judge advocate. Simoneaux sponsored and obtained passage of bills that modernized lobbying reform, marriage equality, oil and mineral rights reform, and the removal of all unconstitutional

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

-era state laws. The political magazine ''Gris Gris'' named Simoneaux as "Best Legislator" for four consecutive years. His obituary quotes, "If there's any consensus in the House at all, it seems to be that Simoneaux ranks head and shoulders above everyone else." In the first administration of Governor

Bobby Jindal Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (born June 10, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016. The only living former Louisiana governor, Jindal also served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives a ...

, Simoneaux was chosen by his colleagues as the chairman of the Louisiana Ethics Commission. Simoneaux was listed in December 2014 by the office of then Louisiana Secretary of State

Tom Schedler John Thomas Schedler is the former Secretary of State of Louisiana The secretary of state of Louisiana (french: Secrétaire d'État de la Louisiane) is one of the elected constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Louisiana and serves as t ...

as an Independent voter. Simoneaux died May 8, 2024, at the age of 90.

References

1933 births 2024 deaths Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Politicians from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Lawyers from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Louisiana State University Law Center alumni {{louisiana-politician-stub