Former Wyoming governor and U.S. Sen Clifford Hansen, a rancher who rode his agricultural background to political success in Cheyenne and Washington, D.C., died Tuesday night. He was 97. Hansen, a Republican, was elected governor in 1962. As governor, he supported lowering the voting age from 21 to 18, increasing retirement pay for state employees and repealing the state's ban on accepting federal aid for education. As his term as governor drew to a close in 1966, Hansen ran for the Senate, beating Democrat Teno Roncalio. In the Senate, Hansen served on the Veterans Affairs Committee, the Finance Committee and the Special Committee on Aging. He backed reservoir projects in Wyoming, designating national recreation areas and wilderness areas in Wyoming, and placing a ceiling on federal expenditures. Hansen was re-elected in 1972 and stepped down in 1978. Hansen also was president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association from 1953 to 1955 and was a University of Wyoming trustee from 1946 to 1963. In 1995, he was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame as a "Great Westerner."...read more
As a senate aide from 74-79, I got to watch Cliff Hansen in action. He was a fine gentleman with a great sense of humor.
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