Walter H. Jurgensen

{{Short description|American politician (1894–1973)}}

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Walter H. Jurgensen

|image = Walter H. Jurgensen Nebraska.jpg

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|order = 20th Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska

|term_start = 1933

|term_end = 1938

|governor = Charles W. Bryan
Robert Leroy Cochran

|predecessor = Theodore Metcalfe

|successor = Nate M. Parsons

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|party = Democratic
Republican (previously)

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Walter H. Jurgensen (October 1894 – 1973) was the 20th lieutenant governor of Nebraska from 1933 to 1938.

Jurgensen was born in Madison, Nebraska, in October 1894 to Peter and Sophia (Paulsen) Jurgensen. He attended high school in Spencer, Nebraska and college at the University of Nebraska, and worked in the insurance business. He married Margaret J. Carper of Cass County in 1920.Sheldon, Addison Erwin. Nebraska, The Land and the People, Vol. 3 (1931)

Before seeking political office, Jurgensen served as president of the Western Union Life Insurance Company in Lincoln, Nebraska.{{cite news|title=Jurgenson Mum On State Plans|newspaper=Capital City Times|date=December 2, 1932|access-date=May 29, 2023|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/672402775/}} In 1928 Jurgensen, then a Republican, challenged Charles J. Warner, then an incumbent state senator, in the Republican primaries for his seat in the Nebraska Senate, but he was unsuccessful.{{cite news|title=Walter H. Jurgensen: Republican|newspaper=The Lincoln Star|date=April 8, 1928|access-date=May 29, 2023|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/309642943/}}{{cite news|title=The Public Pulse|newspaper=Omaha World-Herald|date=April 1, 1932|access-date=May 29, 2023|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/863148827/|quote=...Walter H. Jurgensen... was a candidate on the republican ticket against Senator Charles J. Warner.}}

Jurgensen was first elected Nebraska Lieutenant Governor as a Democrat in November 1932, defeating Republican incumbent Theodore Metcalfe as part of a Democratic landslide in the state connected to Franklin D. Roosevelt's election as President.(9 November 1932). [http://archive.olivesoftware.com/Default/Skins/KearneyA/Client.asp?Skin=KearneyA&AW= State Vote Reflecting U.S. Poll], Kearney Hub He was reelected in 1934, defeating Charles W. Johnson, and he defeated former lieutenant governor George A. Williams to win reelection to a third-term in 1936. As Lieutenant Governor, he formally opened the first session of the new unicameral Nebraska Legislature in 1937.(6 January 1937). [https://www.nytimes.com/1937/01/06/archives/onechamber-nebraska-assembly-opens-norris-says-lobbyists-pray-for.html One-Chamber Nebraska Assembly Opens], The New York Times (Associated Press story)

Jurgensen was removed from office in June 1938, after being convicted in March 1938 of embezzling $549 in a stock transaction between a co-defendant and a railroad station agent in September 1934.(26 June 1938). [https://www.nytimes.com/1938/06/26/archives/lieut-governor-out-nebraska-court-removes-official-in-embezzling.html Lieut. Governor Out: Nebraska Court Removes Official In Embezzling Case], The New York Times Jurgensen contested the conviction and sought renomination for a fourth term as lieutenant governor, but was declared ineligible to participate in the primary.(27 June 2012). [http://www.omaha.com/article/20120627/LIVING/706279981 Time Capsule], Omaha World Herald His successor, Democrat Nate M. Parsons, was elected to fill out the remainder of his term, less than two months.

Jurgensen was sentenced to serve two to five years in prison, and was freed by the state pardon board in December 1940 after making an unopposed request to be released.(13 December 1940). [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JZJSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IMsMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3155,6825201&dq= Ex-Nebraska Official Freed], Telegraph-Herald (Associated Press)(10 February 1939). [http://archive.olivesoftware.com/Default/Skins/KearneyA/Client.asp?Skin=KearneyA&AW= Jurgensen Retains Office Despite His Conviction By Jury], Kearney Hub, pp. 1, 8.