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John C. West

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John C. West
United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
In office
June 8, 1977 – March 21, 1981
PresidentJimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
Preceded byWilliam J. Porter
Succeeded byRobert G. Neumann
109th Governor of South Carolina
In office
January 19, 1971 – January 21, 1975
LieutenantEarle Morris Jr.
Preceded byRobert Evander McNair
Succeeded byJames B. Edwards
80th Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina
In office
January 17, 1967 – January 19, 1971
GovernorRobert Evander McNair
Preceded byRobert Evander McNair
Succeeded byEarle Morris Jr.
Member of the South Carolina Senate
from Kershaw County
In office
January 11, 1955 – January 10, 1967
Preceded byJames Clator Arrants
Succeeded byDistrict abolished
Personal details
Born
John Carl West

(1922-08-27)August 27, 1922
Camden, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedMarch 21, 2004(2004-03-21) (aged 81)
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
(m. 1942)
Children3
EducationThe Citadel
University of South Carolina
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Army

John Carl West Sr. (August 27, 1922 – March 21, 2004) was a U.S. Democratic Party politician who served as the 109th Governor of South Carolina from 1971 to 1975. He served as United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1977 to 1981.

Early life

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West was born in Camden, South Carolina and grew up in the farming community of Charlotte Thompson near Camden.[1][2] The following May, his father, along with seventy-six other persons, was killed in a fire at the nearby Cleveland School.[2] His mother and maternal grandmother escaped unharmed from the fire.

In 1942, he West graduated from The Citadel with a bachelor's degree in political science. After graduation, he enlisted in the United States Army as an intelligence officer during World War II, assigned to stateside service.[2]

Political career

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Following the war, West earned a law degree from the University of South Carolina in 1946. From 1948 to 1952, he served on the state Highway Commission. In 1954, he coordinated the unsuccessful U.S. Senate candidacy of Edgar A. Brown, who lost in a write-in campaign waged by former Governor Strom Thurmond.[2]

From 1955 to 1967, West served in the state senate. He was assigned to several committees which studied public school curriculum, investigated activities of the Communist Party of the United States of America, monitored the state Development Board, examined state support for the nursing profession and junior colleges, and recommended revisions to the state constitution.

West was the 80th Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina, having served from 1967 to 1971. In the 1970 gubernatorial election, West defeated U.S. Representative Albert W. Watson, a Democrat-turned-Republican with 53.2 percent of the vote . Regarded as a New South governor, West vowed in his 1971 inaugural address that he would "eliminate from our government any vestige of discrimination because of race, creed, sex, religion or any other barrier to fairness for all citizens."[3]

After his tenure as governor, West returned to private law practice and was subsequently appointed United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, a position that he held from 1977 to 1981. After returning to the United States, he became a Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of South Carolina. From 1993 until his death from cancer, he was a partner in the Hilton Head law office of Bethea, Jordan, and Griffin.

Personal life

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West married Lois Rhame in 1942. They had three children.[1] West died of liver cancer at his home on Hilton Head Island on March 21, 2004.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Bio: John C. West". The State. March 21, 2004. Archived from the original on April 10, 2004. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "John Carl West Papers". University of South Carolina. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Sheinin, Aaron Gould (March 21, 2004). "Former Gov. John C. West dies at 81". The State. Archived from the original on March 31, 2004. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
[edit]
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina
1966
Succeeded by
Democratic nominee for Governor of South Carolina
1970
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of South Carolina
January 19, 1971–January 21, 1975
Succeeded by
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina
January 17, 1967– January 19, 1971
Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
1977–1981
Succeeded by