Thomas Lee Judge (October 12, 1934 – September 8, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 18th

governor of Montana The governor of Montana is the head of government of MontanaMontana Constitution, Article VI, Section 4. and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either approve or veto ...

from 1973 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 25th

lieutenant governor of Montana The lieutenant governor of Montana is an elected official in the State of Montana that ranks just below the governor of Montana. List of lieutenant governors ;Parties Living former lieutenant governors , there are six former lieutenant gov ...

from 1969 to 1973.

Biography

Judge was born in Helena, Montana. He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

and did his graduate study at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one o ...

. He graduated from the

United States Army Adjutant General School The Adjutant General School and the Soldier Support Institute (SSI) are located at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. The school was formerly located at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, until its closure. These provide training and development of doctr ...

at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. Judge married Carol Anderson in 1966. The couple had two sons, Thomas Warren Judge and Patrick Lane Judge. The Judges, who were serving as governor and first lady of Montana, separated in the fall of 1979 and divorced during the winter of 1980. Judge then married his second wife, Suzan Koch, in 1981. Judge and Koch separated in 2003.

Career

Judge was a second lieutenant in the

US 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, cla ...

and a captain in the US Army Adjutant General Corps and in the US Army Reserves from 1958 to 1964. In 1960, he became president and owner of a public relations firm. Judge served in the Montana House of Representatives from 1961 to 1967 and in the Montana Senate from 1967 to 1969, and as 22nd

Lieutenant Governor of Montana The lieutenant governor of Montana is an elected official in the State of Montana that ranks just below the governor of Montana. List of lieutenant governors ;Parties Living former lieutenant governors , there are six former lieutenant gov ...

from 1969 to 1973. In

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 ...

, when incumbent

Governor of Montana The governor of Montana is the head of government of MontanaMontana Constitution, Article VI, Section 4. and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either approve or veto ...

Forrest Anderson Forrest Howard Anderson (January 30, 1913 – July 20, 1989) was an American politician, attorney, and judge who served as the 17th Governor of Montana from 1969 to 1973. Prior to this, he served as the Attorney General of Montana from 1957 to 1 ...

declined to run for a second term, Judge ran to succeed him. He defeated several opponents in the Democratic primary, and advanced to the general election, where he comfortably defeated

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominee Ed Smith, a rancher and legislator from Dagmar, Montana. Judge was 38 years old at the time of his election as governor. When Judge ran for re-election in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

, he was opposed by

State Attorney General The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the federal district, or of any of the territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney gener ...

Bob Woodahl, whom he defeated in a landslide. He ran for re-election for a third consecutive term in 1980, but was defeated in the Democratic primary by his lieutenant governor, Ted Schwinden, who went on to win the general election. During his tenure as governor, Judge served on the

executive committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

of the

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...

and was chair of the Western Governors Conference. When Schwinden declined to seek re-election to a third term in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, Judge ran to succeed him, and won a competitive and crowded Democratic primary. In the general election, Stan Stephens, the former President of the Montana Senate and the

nominee, defeated Judge by a slim margin.

Death

Judge died in

Chandler, Arizona Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the ...

, on September 8, 2006, at the age of 71. He is interred at Resurrection Cemetery in Helena, Montana.

References

External links

The Political Graveyard
*
Montana Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Judge, Thomas Lee 1934 births 2006 deaths Democratic Party governors of Montana Democratic Party Montana state senators Democratic Party members of the Montana House of Representatives Military personnel from Montana People from Chandler, Arizona Politicians from Helena, Montana Lieutenant Governors of Montana Deaths from respiratory failure Deaths from pulmonary fibrosis 20th-century American politicians Catholics from Arizona Catholics from Montana University of Notre Dame alumni