Walter Jeremiah Maddock (September 13, 1880 – January 25, 1951) was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota

Grand Forks, North Dakota

Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 52,838, while that of the city and surrounding metropolitan area was 98,461...

. He served in the North Dakota House of Representatives

North Dakota House of Representatives

The North Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly and is larger than the North Dakota Senate....

 from 1914 to 1924, and became the Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota

Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota

The Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota is a political office in North Dakota. The Lieutenant Governor's duty is to preside as President of the Senate, and is responsible for legislative relations, the state budget and agri-business development. Should the Governor's office become vacant, the...

 in 1924. Maddock became the 15th Governor of North Dakota

Governor of North Dakota

The Governor of North Dakota is the chief executive of North Dakota. The current Governor is Jack Dalrymple. The Governor has the right to sign and laws, and to call the Legislative Assembly, into emergency session. The Governor is also chairman of the North Dakota Industrial Commission. The...

 in 1928 when Arthur G. Sorlie

Arthur G. Sorlie

Arthur Gustave Sorlie served as the 14th Governor of North Dakota from 1925 until his unexpected death in 1928 at the age of 54.-Background:...

 died in office, and became the first North Dakota

North Dakota

North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....

 born governor. He served the remainder of Sorlie's term and sought re-election, but he failed to win the race against George F. Shafer

George F. Shafer

George F. Shafer was born in Mandan, Dakota Territory. Shafer pursued a career in politics and became the State's Attorney for Mckenzie County from 1915 to 1919. He took on a more prominent role in 1922 when he became the North Dakota Attorney General prior to serving as the Assistant Attorney...

. In the 1928 election, he did something rare when he switched parties from Republican to Democratic.

After being defeated in the election, Maddock returned to farming and was active in organizing farmers' cooperatives. Maddock was a very strong supporter of the Nonpartisan League, and he supported state-owned industries (Bank of North Dakota and the State Mill and Elevator). http://www.state.nd.us/hist/ndgov3.htm In 1933, Maddock became senior administrative officer of the regional Agricultural Adjustment Administration. From 1937 until his retirement in 1950, he served as head of North Dakota's Farm Security Administration office.

External links

• Walter J. Maddock's biography from the Historical Society of North Dakota website
• Walter Maddock entry at the National Governors Association
  National Governors Association
  The National Governors Association , founded in 1908 as the National Governors' Conference, is funded primarily by state dues, federal grants and contracts and private contributions. NGA represents the governors of the fifty U.S. states and five U.S. territories The National Governors Association...
  
  
• Walter Jeremiah Maddock entry at The Political Graveyard
  The Political Graveyard
  The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 224,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information.-History:...