Ellis James Abdnor (February 13, 1923 – May 16, 2012) was an American politician who served as a member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

from

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large po ...

. He was also the 15th

Administrator of the Small Business Administration The administrator of the Small Business Administration is the head of the Small Business Administration of the United States Government. President Barack Obama announced in January 2012 that he would elevate the SBA administrator into the Cabine ...

under presidents

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

and George H. W. Bush. Abdnor had previously represented

South Dakota's 2nd congressional district South Dakota's 2nd congressional district is an obsolete district. It was created after the 1910 census and was eliminated as a result of the redistricting cycle after the 1980 Census. Members were elected at-large until the formation of indiv ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and served as the 30th

Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota The lieutenant governor of South Dakota is the second-ranking member of the executive branch of South Dakota state government and also serves as presiding officer of the South Dakota Senate. The lieutenant governor succeeds to the officer of go ...

and a member of the

South Dakota Senate The Senate is the upper house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 35 members, one representing each legislative district; it meets at the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre. Composition :''92nd Legislature (2019)'' Officers L ...

Early life and education

Abdnor was born in

Kennebec, South Dakota Kennebec is a town in and county seat of Lyman County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 281 at the 2020 census. History Kennebec was laid out in 1905. Kennebec has served as county seat of Lyman County since 1922. The courthouse d ...

, on February 13, 1923, the son of Mary (née Wehby) and Samuel J. Abdnor. Abdnor served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and then graduated from the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Univers ...

in 1945 where he became a member of the

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more t ...

fraternity.

Career

He was a member of the

from 1957 to 1969. A common, decent, plain spoken man," he was affectionately known as "the people's Senator." He was also described as a "nice-guy public servant" with a "down-home, warm and fuzzy way. His staff considered him to be a friend as well as an honorable mentor and public servant. Like his South Dakota congressional colleague

James Abourezk James George Abourezk (born February 24, 1931) is an American attorney and Democratic politician who served as a United States senator and United States representative from South Dakota. He did not seek re-election to the US Senate in 1978. He w ...

, he was a second-generation Lebanese-American and second U.S. Senator of Lebanese descent after Abourezk, as well. From 1946 to 1948, James Abdnor worked as a teacher and coach. Abdnor was chief clerk of the

South Dakota Legislature The South Dakota State Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of South Dakota. It is a bicameral legislative body, consisting of the South Dakota Senate, which has 35 members, and the South Dakota House of Representatives, whic ...

in the early-1950s. Abdnor was the 30th

from 1969 to 1971, and unsuccessfully sought the nomination for the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

in 1970.

Tenure in Congress

In 1972, he was elected to the House of Representatives as a Republican. Abdnor ran in the 1980 election against three-term incumbent and

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

Democratic presidential nominee

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 pr ...

for the

. Abdnor claimed McGovern was out of touch with the state and unseated him by a large margin. During his term as a senator, Abdnor served on the Appropriations Committee and chaired three subcommittees, including the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee. In 1986, after winning by a wide margin a bruising re-election primary campaign against then Governor

Bill Janklow William John Janklow (September 13, 1939January 12, 2012) was an American lawyer and politician and member of the Republican Party who holds the record for the longest tenure as Governor of South Dakota: sixteen years in office. Janklow had the th ...

, Abdnor narrowly lost his Senate seat to then-Representative

Tom Daschle Thomas Andrew Daschle ( ; born December 9, 1947) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States senator from South Dakota from 1987 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he became U.S. Senate Minority Leader in 1995 a ...

. He served as the administrator of the

Small Business Administration The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and stre ...

from 1987 to 1989, and served in an advisory capacity for

John Thune John Randolph Thune ( ; born January 7, 1961) is an American politician and businessman serving as the senior United States senator from South Dakota, a seat he has held since 2005, and as the Senate minority whip since 2021. A member of the Re ...

's successful campaign against Daschle in 2004.

Legislation

Abdnor's accomplishments included authorization of the Grassropes irrigation project and the Walworth, Edmunds, Brown (WEB) rural water system, reauthorization of the Belle Fourche irrigation project, and the inclusion of

oats The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human co ...

(of which South Dakota is a major producer) in the farm program. As a fiscal conservative, on April 2, 1984, he introduced S. 2516, the Deficit Reduction Act, a forerunner to the

Gramm–Rudman–Hollings Balanced Budget Act The Gramm–Rudman–Hollings Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 and the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Reaffirmation Act of 1987 (both often known as Gramm–Rudman) were the first binding spending constrain ...

. As chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Water Resources, he exerted leadership in passage of legislation requiring cost-sharing for Federal water development projects. His interest in chairing the subcommittee was spawned by the importance of water to South Dakota's primary industry, agriculture, and the fact the state had been promised irrigation development in trade for inundation of its Missouri River bottom land behind massive dams in order to provide flood control and navigation benefits to downstream states.

Notable Abdnor staffers

United States Senator

had been a member of Senator Abdnor's staff. John Thune#Early life, education, and early political career Other notable members of Abdnor's staff who went on to fill important public service roles include: John Hamre, Undersecretary of Defense; Jeff Trandahl,

Clerk of the House The clerk, chief clerk, or secretary of a legislative chamber is the senior administrative officer responsible for ensuring that its business runs smoothly. This may encompass keeping custody of documents lain before the house, received, or produ ...

; Bruce Knight, Undersecretary, Marketing and Regulatory Programs, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA); Larry Parkinson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Law Enforcement and Security, U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and Director, Office of Enforcement, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC); Phil Hogen, Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC); Vern Larson, South Dakota State Treasurer and Auditor; South Dakota State Senators

Walter Conahan Walter Charles Conahan (April 20, 1927 – April 18, 2015) was an American politician. Born in Leola, South Dakota, Conahan received his bachelor's degree in journalism from South Dakota State University. He served as press secretary for Unite ...

, Mike Vehle, Lee Schoenbeck and

Scott Heidepriem Scott N. Heidepriem (born June 25, 1956) is an American attorney and former South Dakota state legislator. Early life, education, and career Heidepriem graduated with his bachelors, masters, and juris doctor from the University of South Dakota. ...

; South Dakota State Representative Sean O'Brien; Charlotte Fischer, South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioner; Roland Dolly, Commissioner of Economic Development for the State Of South Dakota; and Stephen Censky, Administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service, CEO of the American Soybean Association, and United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture.

Death

Abdnor died on May 16, 2012, at the age of 89.

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdnor, James 1923 births 2012 deaths People from Lyman County, South Dakota American politicians of Lebanese descent Middle Eastern Christians Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from South Dakota Republican Party United States senators from South Dakota Administrators of the Small Business Administration Reagan administration personnel Lieutenant Governors of South Dakota Republican Party South Dakota state senators 20th-century American politicians University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni United States Army soldiers Military personnel from South Dakota United States Army personnel of World War II