Andrus, Cecil D., 1931-2017

Cecil Dale Andrus (August 25, 1931 – August 24, 2017) was an American politician who served as 26th and 28th governor of Idaho, for a total of fourteen years. A Democrat, he also served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1977 to 1981 during the Carter Administration. Andrus lost his first gubernatorial election in 1966 but won four (in 1970, 1974, 1986, and 1990) and his fourteen years as governor is the most in state history. In public life, Andrus was noted for his strong conservationist and environmental views and accomplishments, and an Idaho wildlife preserve established in 1993 in Washington County is named the Cecil D. Andrus Wildlife Management Area in his honor. In 2018, the Cecil D. Andrus–White Clouds Wilderness was renamed after him. A political liberal, he protected the environment by minimizing the control of business interests held over the public domain and by concentrating decision-making in the hands of experts in the Interior Department. He argued that environmentalism can and must coexist with positive economic development.