Sig Unander
{{Short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Sig Unander
| image = Sig Unander.jpg
| width =
| height =
| caption =
| birth_date = August 3, 1913
| birth_place = Portland, Oregon, US
| residence =
| death_date = {{death date and age|1978|02|01|1913|08|03}}
| death_place = Portland, Oregon, US
| office = Oregon State Treasurer
| term_start = January 5, 1953
| term_end = December 31, 1959
| predecessor = Walter J. Pearson
| successor = Howard C. Belton
| constituency =
| party = Republican
| education = Stanford University (BA, MBA)
| religion =
| occupation =
| majority =
| relations =
| spouse = Vivian
| civil partner =
| children = Sigfrid Jr., Astrid
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
Sigfrid Benson "Sig" Unander (August 3, 1913 – February 1, 1978) was an American politician who served two terms as Treasurer of the state of Oregon from 1952 to 1959. A Republican, Unander was his party's nominee for United States Senate in 1962 and unsuccessfully sought the party nomination for Governor of Oregon in 1958.
Early life
Unander was born in Portland, Oregon on August 3, 1913, to Sigfrid M. and Caroline Benson Unander, a daughter of Portland businessman and philanthropist Simon Benson.{{cite news
|title=Mrs. Unander dies at home
|newspaper=The Oregonian
|date=October 15, 1948
|page=6}}{{cite web
|url=http://jtenlen.drizzlehosting.com/ORBios/sbenson.html
|title=Simon Benson
|publisher=Oregon Biographies Project
|access-date=March 20, 2024}}{{cite web|title=State of Oregon Voter's Pamphlet: General Election, November 6, 1962
|publisher=Oregon Secretary of State
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328184500/http://library.state.or.us/repository/2010/201003011350161/ORVPGenMari1962.pdf
|archive-date=2013-03-28
|url=http://library.state.or.us/repository/2010/201003011350161/ORVPGenMari1962.pdf
|page=60
|access-date=March 20, 2024
|url-status=dead}} He studied political science at Stanford University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts, and later an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.{{cite news
|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1028&dat=19480305&id=O2VlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-5MNAAAAIBAJ&pg=934,957142&hl=en
|title=Meet the Candidates|newspaper=Claskanie Chief
|date=March 5, 1948
|access-date=March 20, 2024}}
Unander served in the United States Army during World War II, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel and earning two medals from the United States and four from other Allied Nations while serving in Europe, Africa, and the Southwest Pacific.
Political career
Prior to serving in World War II, Unander was executive assistant to Republican Oregon Governor Charles A. Sprague. Upon his return from the war, he remained active in Republican politics, serving as treasurer of the party's State Central Committee and vice chairman of the Oregon Republican Club. He was a member of the Young Republicans and a precinct committeeman.
In 1948, he sought the Republican nomination for the position of Oregon State Treasurer, but lost the primary election to State Senator Howard Belton by just 1,348 votes.{{cite news
|title=Belton's lead fixed at 1348
|newspaper=The Oregonian
|date=June 22, 1948
|page=21}}
In 1952, Unander again ran for the office, and this time secured his party's nominee and defeated Democrat Francis Lambert in the general election to become Oregon's 18th State Treasurer.{{cite news
|title=The State's Official Family
|newspaper=The Oregonian
|date=November 7, 1952
|page=38}}{{cite web
|url=https://sos.oregon.gov/blue-book/Documents/elections/history-officials.pdf
|title=Treasurers of Oregon
|work=Oregon Blue Book
|publisher=Oregon Secretary of State
|access-date=March 20, 2024|page=6}}{{cite web
|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=957951
|title=Our Campaigns: 1952 Oregon Treasurer
|access-date=March 20, 2024}} In 1956, he defeated Wiley Smith to win re-election by a wide margin.{{cite web
|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=957945
|title=Our Campaigns: 1956 Oregon Treasurer
|access-date=March 20, 2024}}
Unander's convincing re-election made him the early favorite for the Republican nomination in the upcoming 1958 Oregon gubernatorial election to face Democratic incumbent Robert D. Holmes, who had narrowly won a special election two years earlier.{{cite news
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tGtYAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA4&article_id=1607,5073751
|title=The Financial David
|newspaper=The Bend Bulletin
|date=January 15, 1958
|access-date=March 20, 2024}} But with many Republicans concerned that Unander was too conservative to get elected, the more moderate Oregon Secretary of State Mark Hatfield entered the race, earning the nomination and eventually the governorship.{{cite news
|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2011/08/mark_o_hatfield_oregons_first.html
|title=Mark O. Hatfield, Oregon's first statesman, dies Sunday at 89
|date=April 8, 2011
|access-date=March 20, 2024
|newspaper=The Oregonian
|last=Mapes
|first=Jeff}}
In 1959, Unander resigned as Treasurer to accept an appointment to the United States Federal Maritime Board where he served as vice chairman.{{cite news
|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cHARAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7uEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6718,341881&hl=en
|title=Sig Unander apparent victim of heart attack
|work=The Register-Guard
|date=February 1, 1978
|accessdate=February 23, 2010
}}
Unander returned to Oregon to run in the 1962 United States Senate election. He defeated Congressman Edwin Durno to become the Republican nominee,{{cite web|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=766466
|title=Our Campaigns: 1962 Oregon US Senate Republican primary
|access-date=March 20, 2024}} but lost in the general election to three-term Democratic Senator Wayne Morse.{{cite web
|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=40155
|title=Our Campaigns: 1962 Oregon US Senate
|access-date=March 20, 2024}} In the 1966 Senate election, Unander crossed party lines to endorse Democrat Robert B. Duncan over Republican Hatfield due to Hatfield's opposition to the Vietnam War.{{cite news
|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1966/11/06/83550873.pdf
|title=Hatfield stages Oregon recovery
|last=Turner
|first=Wallace
|author-link=Wallace Turner
|newspaper=The New York Times
|date=November 6, 1966
|access-date=July 3, 2025
}}
Personal life
Unander and his wife Vivian had two children. He died in Portland on February 1, 1978, of a heart attack.
References
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=Walter J. Pearson}}
{{s-ttl|title=Treasurer of Oregon|years=1952–1959}}
{{s-aft|after=Howard Belton}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=Douglas McKay}}
{{s-ttl|title=Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Oregon
(Class 3)|years=1962}}
{{s-aft|after=Bob Packwood}}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unander, Sig}}
Category:State treasurers of Oregon
Category:Politicians from Portland, Oregon