Albert Brewer (26 October 1928-2 January 2017) was the Democratic Governor of Alabama from 7 May 1968 to 18 January 1971, succeeding Lurleen Wallace and preceding George Wallace.
Biography[]
Albert Brewer was born in Bethel Springs, Tennessee in 1928, and he was raised in Decatur, Alabama. He became a prominent lawyer before serving in the State House from 1955 to 1967, as Lieutenant Governor from 1967 to 1968, and as Governor from 1968 to 1971 on the death of Governor Lurleen Wallace. Brewer cut expenditures, including by creating a state motor pool, and organized raids on theaters showing pornographic movies and also cracked down on alcohol and narcotics abuse. While running for re-election in 1970, Brewer turned against the corrupt George Wallace and tried to build a coalition of Black people, educated middle-class whites, and working-class whites from liberal northern Alabama, and he was backed by President Richard Nixon. However, Wallace appealed to the racism of many whites in Alabama and defeated Brewer in the election, and Brewer failed to return to politics. He died in 2017.