Julius Albert Krug (November 23, 1907March 26, 1970) was a politician who served as the

United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natur ...

for the administration of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

from 1946 until 1949.

Early life and education

Krug was born November 23, 1907, in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, to son of Julius J. Krug (1877–1971) and the former Emma M. Korfmacher (1877–1949). Krug graduated from what is now the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

in 1929.

Career

His first notable jobs were with the

Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolin ...

, where he started working as chief power engineer in 1938, and then manager of power in 1940. In 1941, Krug was promoted to chief of the power branch of the

Office of Production Management The Office of Production Management was a United States Government agency that existed from January 1941 to centralize direction of the federal procurement programs and quasi-war production during the period immediately proceeding the United State ...

. After the beginning of

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 ...

, this office became the

War Production Board The War Production Board (WPB) was an agency of the United States government that supervised war production during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established it in January 1942, with Executive Order 9024. The WPB replaced the Su ...

. Krug was promoted to director of the Office of War Utilities in 1943. In April 1944, Krug enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. He was recalled that August to serve as chairman of the War Production Board, where he served until the board's dissolution in November 1945.

Secretary of the Interior

President Truman nominated Krug for the position of Secretary of the Interior on February 26, and he assumed office on March 18, 1946. As Secretary, Krug opposed

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

companies' efforts to gain logging rights to huge forests in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

state, and opposed the building of unnecessary

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

s. As the administrator of

coal mines Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron fro ...

in the United States, he led failed negotiations between

John L. Lewis John Llewellyn Lewis (February 12, 1880 – June 11, 1969) was an American leader of organized labor who served as president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMW) from 1920 to 1960. A major player in the history of coal mining, he was the d ...

and mine owners in an attempt to end a nationwide strike by the

United Mine Workers of America The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the Unit ...

. In 1948, Krug signed a contract whereby the tribe living at the

Fort Berthold Indian Reservation The Fort Berthold Indian Reservation is a U.S. Indian reservation in western North Dakota that is home for the federally recognized Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation, also known as the Three Affiliated Tribes. The reservation includes lands o ...

in North Dakota was forced to sell 155,000 acres of its land for the

Garrison Dam Garrison Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam on the Missouri River in central North Dakota, U.S. Constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1947 to 1953, at over in length, the dam is the fifth-largest earthen dam in the world. The re ...

and reservoir project in

New Town, North Dakota New Town is a city in Mountrail County, North Dakota. The population was 2,764 at the time of the 2020 census, making it the 18th largest city in North Dakota. New Town was platted in 1950 as a replacement site for the residents of Sanish and ...

. The reservoir flooded one-quarter of the reservation, destroying the tribal headquarters, the hospital, and 154,000 acres of fertile farm land. George Gillette, chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation, commented in 1948: In August 1949, Krug chaired the 19-member United States Citizens Committee that participated in the United Nations Scientific Conference on Conservation and Utilization of Resources, held at

Lake Success, New York Lake Success is a village in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York. The population was 2,897 at the 2010 census. The Incorporated Village of Lake Success was the temporary home of the Uni ...

. Other members of the committee included

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

, Thomas Watson, Howard E. Babcock, and Randolph Greene Pack.

Later career

Krug resigned from the cabinet effective on December 1, 1949, and he moved on to the private industry as a utilities consultant in Washington. He also served as the chairman of the board of

Brookside Mills Brookside Mills was a textile manufacturing company that operated in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The company's Second Creek factory was the city's largest employer in the early 1900s.East Tennes ...

, and a cofounded the Volunteer Asphalt Company in the

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

Personal life

Krug died in

on March 26, 1970, at the age of 62, and is interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

. He and his wife, Margaret Catherine Dean, had two children; a daughter, Marilyn Krug Grether, and a son, James Allen Krug.

Popular culture

Krug's affair with

Edith Bouvier Beale Edith Bouvier Beale (November 7, 1917 – January 14, 2002), nicknamed Little Edie, was an American socialite, fashion model, and cabaret performer. She was a first cousin of Jacqueline Onassis and Lee Bouvier Radziwill. She is best known for ...

Grey Gardens ''Grey Gardens'' is a 1975 American documentary film by Albert and David Maysles. The film depicts the everyday lives of two reclusive, upper-class women, a mother and daughter both named Edith Beale, who lived in poverty at Grey Gardens, a ...

fame is portrayed in the HBO original film Grey Gardens (2009).

Gallery

Photograph of Secretary of the Interior Julius Krug delivering an address at the dedication of Franklin D.... - NARA - 199357.jpg, Krug at the dedication of Franklin D. Roosevelt's home as a national shrine, 1946 Photograph of President Truman with his Cabinet and other top advisors, in the Cabinet Room at the White House... - NARA - 200084.jpg, Krug (right) with Truman's cabinet, 1949 Harry Truman at Everglades National Park.jpg, With Truman at the dedication of Everglades National Park, 1947 1400 29th Street NW.jpg, Krug's former house in Washington, D.C.

Media

Krug is portrayed by actor

Daniel Baldwin Daniel Leroy Baldwin (born October 5, 1960) is an American actor. He is the second oldest of the four Baldwin brothers, all of whom are actors. Baldwin played the role of Detective Beau Felton in the NBC TV series '' Homicide: Life on the Str ...

in the HBO original film ''

'' (2009).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Krug, Julius A. 1907 births 1970 deaths Politicians from Madison, Wisconsin Military personnel from Wisconsin United States Navy personnel of World War II Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Secretaries of the Interior University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Truman administration cabinet members 20th-century American politicians