Robert D. Orr
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| Robert D. Orr | |
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45th Governor of Indiana
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| In office January 13, 1981 – January 9, 1989 |
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| Lieutenant | John M. Mutz |
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| Preceded by | Otis R. Bowen |
| Succeeded by | Evan Bayh |
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| Born | November 17, 1917 Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Died | March 10, 2004 (aged 86) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Joanne Wallace |
Robert Dunkerson Orr (November 17, 1917 - March 10, 2004) was an American political leader and Governor of Indiana from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the United States Republican Party.
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[edit] Life Before Politics
Orr was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but was reared in Evansville, Indiana. Orr graduated from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1940 and was then admitted to Harvard Business School. At Yale he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Because of the outbreak of World War II, he left Harvard to join the U.S. Army eventually rising to the rank of Major. For his service, he was awarded the Legion of Merit.
After the War, Orr entered into the family business, Orr Iron Company, and became active in Republican politics of Vanderburgh County.
[edit] Entrance into Politics
Orr entered state level politics when he was elected in 1968 from Evansville to the Indiana State Senate. He served there until 1973, when he became lieutenant governor during the administration of popular Republican Governor Otis R. Bowen. Orr was elected to succeed Bowen as governor in 1980, having defeated the Democrat John Hillenbrand, 1,257,383 (57.7 percent) to 913,116 (41.9 percent) As governor he oversaw the reform of the Indiana educational system. In 1984, he defeated State Senator Wayne Townsend of Hartford City to win a second term as governor: 1,146,497 (52.8 percent of the two-party vote) to 1,036,832 (47.2 percent). In the 1984 election, Orr hence polled 110,886 fewer votes than he had in 1980, and his overall percent dropped by 4.9.[1]
After his terms as governor, Orr was named by U.S. President George H. W. Bush as the U.S. Ambassador to Singapore, a position that he held until 1992.
[edit] After Politics
After he left his ambassadorship, Orr established a consulting firm called the Alliance for Global Commerce, which focused on international trade and export issues.
In 2000, he divorced his wife Joanne "Josie" Wallace. In 2001, at the age of eighty-three, he married Mary K. Davis. Orr died at the age of eighty-six at the Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis from complications following kidney surgery. He is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.
[edit] References
- ^ Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections, 2005 edition
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Otis R. Bowen |
Governor of Indiana 1981-1989 |
Succeeded by Evan Bayh |
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