Highlights Archives
Remembering Governor Lee Sherman Dreyfus
Former Wisconsin Governor Lee Sherman Dreyfus, whose omnipresent red vest became an icon of Wisconsin politics, is being remembered today and on Wednesday, January 9, with a memorial at the state Capitol that includes his gubernatorial portrait, now part of the Wisconsin Historical Society's painting collection, and a trademark red vest that Dreyfus donated to the Society. Dreyfus, who served one term as governor from 1979 to 1983, died at his home in Waukesha on January 2.
Virtually an unknown figure in Wisconsin politics just six months before the gubernatorial election in 1978 — a Milwaukee Sentinel poll at the time concluded that only 6 percent of voters recognized his name — Dreyfus conducted a hard-fought, grassroots campaign and won the election with 55 percent of the vote. He didn't have political insiders to help him win the race either. He had risen from a speech professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point to become the university's chancellor before launching his bid for governor. The Wisconsin Historical Society holds the records of the Dreyfus administration as well as his personal and family papers.
After opting not to seek a second term as governor, Dreyfus served as president of Sentry Insurance from 1983 to 1984, then became active as a national and international speaker until his retirement in 2000. Lee Sherman Dreyfus was 81.
:: Posted January 8, 2008
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