Olene S. Walker
Encyclopedia
Olene Smith Walker was Utah
's 15th Governor. She was sworn into office on November 5, 2003, shortly before her 73rd birthday, as Utah's first, and, to date, only female governor. She is a member of the Republican Party.
Walker's political background includes eight years in the state legislature including a term as Majority Whip. She served as the fourth Lieutenant Governor of Utah
for the 10 years prior to becoming governor. She founded the Salt Lake Education Foundation and served as its director. She served as director of the Utah Division of Community Development. She has chaired the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, the Utah State Housing Coordinating Committee, the Governor's Commission on Child Care, and the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors.
She assumed the office of Governor of the State of Utah after former governor Mike Leavitt was nominated by President George W. Bush to lead the Environmental Protection Agency in 2003. Walker served as governor until the end of Leavitt's term on January 3, 2005.
Shortly after becoming governor, she selected former State Representative Gayle McKeachnie
to be her lieutenant governor. Olene Walker was the first female governor to be sworn in by a female Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court, Christine M. Durham
.
In a move that caused a degree of controversy within the state, the Utah Republican Party
at its convention on May 8, 2004 elected not to place Walker on the ballot for the party primary (held on June 22, 2004), selecting instead Jon Huntsman, Jr.
and Nolan Karras
as the two potential Republican party candidates for the office of Governor of the State of Utah.
Huntsman went on to win the primary election with a great plurality of the vote. These events effectively ruled out any possibility of Walker being on the ballot in the 2004 general election. Convention delegates defended their choice by claiming that many of the delegates were already pledged to other candidates, because Walker had served only six months as Governor before the party convention.
, Stanford University
, and the University of Utah
respectively.
). As of the spring of 2010 she was serving as the Primary president in the Bloomington 7th Ward on the southside of St. George, Utah
.
In May 2010 the Utah County Democratic Party gave Walker its first distinguished service award.
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
's 15th Governor. She was sworn into office on November 5, 2003, shortly before her 73rd birthday, as Utah's first, and, to date, only female governor. She is a member of the Republican Party.
Walker's political background includes eight years in the state legislature including a term as Majority Whip. She served as the fourth Lieutenant Governor of Utah
Lieutenant Governor of Utah
The Office of the Lieutenant Governor in Utah was created in 1975. There have only been seven Lieutenant Governors in Utah's history. Prior to the creation of the Lieutenant Governor's office, the succession to the Governorship of Utah was held by the Utah Secretary of State...
for the 10 years prior to becoming governor. She founded the Salt Lake Education Foundation and served as its director. She served as director of the Utah Division of Community Development. She has chaired the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, the Utah State Housing Coordinating Committee, the Governor's Commission on Child Care, and the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors.
She assumed the office of Governor of the State of Utah after former governor Mike Leavitt was nominated by President George W. Bush to lead the Environmental Protection Agency in 2003. Walker served as governor until the end of Leavitt's term on January 3, 2005.
Shortly after becoming governor, she selected former State Representative Gayle McKeachnie
Gayle McKeachnie
Gayle F. McKeachnie is a Utah Republican politician and the fifth Lieutenant Governor of Utah.-Education:Gayle McKeachnie received his B.A. from the College of Southern Utah and his J.D. from the University of Utah. For a time, Lieutenant Governor McKeachnie was an adjunct professor at Brigham...
to be her lieutenant governor. Olene Walker was the first female governor to be sworn in by a female Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court, Christine M. Durham
Christine M. Durham
Christine Meaders Durham is the Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court. She was born on 3 August 1945. Her husband, George Durham, is a pediatrician and they have five children.-Early Life and Education:...
.
In a move that caused a degree of controversy within the state, the Utah Republican Party
Utah Republican Party
The Utah State Republican Party works to nominate and support the election of Republican candidates in partisan races for public office in the state of Utah...
at its convention on May 8, 2004 elected not to place Walker on the ballot for the party primary (held on June 22, 2004), selecting instead Jon Huntsman, Jr.
Jon Huntsman, Jr.
Jon Meade Huntsman, Jr. is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 16th Governor of Utah. He also served in the administrations of four United States presidents and is a candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.Huntsman worked as a White House staff assistant for...
and Nolan Karras
Nolan Karras
Nolan E. Karras is a politician from the state of Utah.Karras earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Weber State College and later an MBA from the University of Utah in 1970....
as the two potential Republican party candidates for the office of Governor of the State of Utah.
Huntsman went on to win the primary election with a great plurality of the vote. These events effectively ruled out any possibility of Walker being on the ballot in the 2004 general election. Convention delegates defended their choice by claiming that many of the delegates were already pledged to other candidates, because Walker had served only six months as Governor before the party convention.
Education
Walker received her bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees from Brigham Young UniversityBrigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
, Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, and the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
respectively.
Religion
Walker is a Latter-day Saint (MormonMormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
). As of the spring of 2010 she was serving as the Primary president in the Bloomington 7th Ward on the southside of St. George, Utah
St. George, Utah
St. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah. It is the principal city of and is included in the St. George, Utah, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is 119 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 303 miles ...
.
Recognition
The State of Utah operates the Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund which seeks to provide affordable housing throughout the state, renovate rural housing, protect tenets from landlords who seek to exploit them, and in other ways to provide livable housing options to low income residents of the state.In May 2010 the Utah County Democratic Party gave Walker its first distinguished service award.
Links
- http://www.families.utah.gov/Walker.PDF
- http://www.nga.org/.../menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?...
- http://www.nndb.com/people/440/000044308/