Sandy Keith
{{Short description|American politician and jurist (1928–2020)}}
{{About|a politician|other uses|Alexander Keith (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2011}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| nationality = American
| image name = Sandy Keith.jpg
| jr/sr and state = Chief Justice of the
Minnesota Supreme Court
| party = Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
| appointed = Rudy Perpich
| term_start = December 1, 1990
| term_end = January 29, 1998
| preceded = Peter S. Popovich
| succeeded = Kathleen A. Blatz
| office2 = Associate Justice of the
Minnesota Supreme Court
| appointed2 = Rudy Perpich
| term_start2 = February 1, 1989
| term_end2 = December 1, 1990
| preceded2 =
| succeeded2 =
| office3 = 37th Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota
| term_start3 = January 8, 1963
| term_end3 = January 2, 1967
| governor3 = Elmer L. Andersen
Karl Rolvaag
| predecessor3 = Karl Rolvaag
| successor3 = James B. Goetz
| state_senate4 = Minnesota
| district4 = 4th
| term_start4 = January 6, 1959
| term_end4 = January 7, 1963
| predecessor4 = Walter Burdick
| successor4 = Harold G. Krieger
| alma_mater = Amherst College
Yale Law School
| birth_name = Alexander MacDonald Keith
| birth_date = November 22, 1928
| birth_place = Rochester, Minnesota
| death_date = October 3, 2020 (aged 91)
| death_place =
| spouse = Marion E. Sanford
}}
Alexander MacDonald "Sandy" Keith (November 22, 1928 – October 3, 2020) was an American politician and jurist who was the first person to hold office in each of the three branches of Minnesota state government, serving as state senator, the 37th Lieutenant Governor, and as an associate justice and later chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court.{{cite news |last=Klecker |first=Mara |date=October 5, 2020 |title=Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Sandy Keith dies |url=https://www.startribune.com/sandy-keith-former-minnesota-supreme-court-chief-justice-dies/572638202/ |work=Star Tribune |location=Minneapolis |quote=Alexander MacDonald "Sandy" Keith dedicated his life to public service and is believed to be the first person to work in roles across all three branches of Minnesota government.}}{{cite news |author= |title=A.M. "Sandy" Keith (obituary) |url=https://www.postbulletin.com/obituaries/obits/6695870-A.M.-"Sandy"-Keith |work=Post-Bulletin |location=Rochester, Minnesota |date=October 5, 2020 |quote=Sandy was a public man—the only person in Minnesota’s history to have served in all three branches of state government.}}
Early life
Keith was born in Rochester, Minnesota, to Norman M. Keith and Edna (Alexander) Keith. His father was a physician who practiced medicine at the Mayo Clinic. He married Marion E. Sanford on April 29, 1955. Keith graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College in 1950, and from Yale Law School in 1953. He then served in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War.[https://www.leg.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=12110 Minnesota Legislators Past & Present-Alexander MacDonald "Sandy" Keith]
Career
After returning to his hometown of Rochester, Keith took a job as counsel with the Mayo Clinic, where he worked with future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun.
In 1959, he was elected to the Minnesota State Senate as a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL). During his tenure as a state senator, Keith served as a delegate to the 1960 Democratic National Convention. He was Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota under Governor Karl Rolvaag from 1963 until 1967. He challenged Rolvaag for the nomination to be the DFL's candidate for governor in the 1966 general election, but was defeated by Rolvaag in the primary election.
In 1989, Keith began serving as a justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. He became chief justice in 1990 and served in that capacity until 1998.[https://www.leg.mn.gov/legdb/fulldetail?id=12110 Minnesota Legislators Past & Present[Alexander MacDonald "Sandy" Keith][https://www.leg.mn.gov/lrl/mngov/ltgov Minnesota Legislative Reference Library-Minnesota Lieutenant Governors, 1858-present]
Death
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/keith.html Sandy Keith] at Political Graveyard
{{MN-legdb|12110}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120206223510/http://www.lawlibrary.state.mn.us/judgebio.html#keith Minnesota State Law Library biography: Alexander M. Keith]
- [http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1966/11/1/how-to-get-mangled-in-minnesota/ The Harvard Crimson 11/1/1966: "How to Get Mangled in Minnesota Politics: Sandy Keith Succumbs to Sympathy Vote"]
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{{succession box|title=Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota|years=1963–1967|before=Karl Rolvaag|after=James B. Goetz}}
{{s-legal}}
{{succession box|title=Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court | before=Peter S. Popovich | years=1990–1998 | after=Kathleen A. Blatz}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|rows=2|before=Karl Rolvaag}}
{{s-ttl|title=Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota|years=1962}}
{{s-aft|after=Bob Short}}
{{s-ttl|title=Endorsed Gubernatorial Candidate,
Minnesota DFL State Convention|years=1966}}
{{s-aft||after=Wendell Anderson}}
{{s-end}}
{{MN-SC-CJ}}
{{MNLieutenantGovernors}}
{{MNJustices}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keith, Sandy}}
Category:Politicians from Rochester, Minnesota
Category:Military personnel from Minnesota
Category:Lieutenant governors of Minnesota
Category:Democratic Party Minnesota state senators
Category:Amherst College alumni
Category:Yale Law School alumni
Category:Chief justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court