Guy Jacob Swope (December 26, 1892 – July 25, 1969) was an American

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, accountant, and

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politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

. His career included one term as a representative in the

77th United States Congress The 77th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1941, ...

, serving as a director in the

United States Department of Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the man ...

under

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, and serving for a brief period as acting governor of Puerto Rico in 1941. He also served in the

United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...

, Military Government Branch, where he attained the rank of Commander. Swope was born in Meckville,

Berks County, Pennsylvania Berks County ( Pennsylvania German: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading. The Schuylkill River, a tributary of the Delaware Ri ...

and studied in Keystone State Teachers College and Columbia University School of International Affairs. After graduation, he first worked as a teacher in

Lebanon County, Pennsylvania Lebanon County ( Pennsylvania Dutch: Lebanon Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 133,568. Its county seat is the city of Lebanon. The county was formed from portions of Dauphin ...

and later as an agent for the Internal Revenue Service. In 1935, he became the budgetary secretary for

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and served in that position for two years before being elected to congress in 1936. He failed to win re-election in 1938. He was made auditor of Puerto Rico in 1940 and served in that capacity for only a year before being appointed acting Governor. He only worked as governor for less than a year before becoming a Director in the Division of Territories and Island Possessions for the Department of the Interior. During the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, he joined the United States Naval Reserve. After the war, he was a civilian chief of the National Government Division in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan and later as an assistant to the American High Commissioner in Germany. After the war, Swope returned to political life with a failed bid for re-election to Congress in 1956, but he was appointed Deputy State Treasurer of Pennsylvania from 1961 until his retirement in 1965.

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1892 births 1969 deaths Governors of Puerto Rico School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 20th-century American politicians {{Pennsylvania-Representative-stub