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George Dern

George Dern (8 September 1872-27 August 1936) was the Democratic Governor of Utah from 5 January 1925 to 2 January 1933 (succeeding Charles R. Mabey and preceding Henry H. Blood) and United States Secretary of War from 4 March 1933 to 27 August 1936 (succeeding Patrick J. Hurley and preceding Harry Woodring).

Biography[]

George Dern was born in Scribner, Nebraska in 1872, the son of German immigrant parents. He worked for his father's gold mining and milling company in Salt Lake City, Utah before becoming its general manager in 1901. While the company shut down in 1913, Dern entered politics a year later as a progressive Democrat, serving in the state senate from 1914 to 1923 and as Governor from 1925 to 1933. Dern ran on the catch slogan "We want a Dern good governor, and we don't mean Mabey," winning the endorsement of Robert M. La Follette and his Progressive Party. dern devoted himself to utilizing the state's rich natural resources, education, social welfare, and tax reform, adopting a state income tax and a corporate franchise tax against strong opposition. He won re-election in 1928, even as the state voted for Republican presidential candidate Herbert Hoover. Dern went on to serve as President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Secretary of War from 1933 to 1936 despite his pacifist leanings and lack of military experience, and he initiated a five-year plan to modernize and expand the US Army, while administering the Civilian Conservation Corps and several infrastructure projects. He died in Washington DC in 1936. His grandson Bruce Dern and great-grandfather Laura Dern became famous actors.

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