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Kirk Fordice
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kirk Fordice | |
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| In office 1992 – 2000 |
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| Lieutenant(s) | Eddie Briggs, Ronnie Musgrove |
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| Preceded by | Ray Mabus |
| Succeeded by | Ronnie Musgrove |
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| Born | February 10, 1934 Memphis, Tennessee |
| Died | September 7, 2004 Jackson, Mississippi |
| Political party | Republican |
| Profession | Soldier, Businessman |
Daniel Kirkwood "Kirk" Fordice, Jr. (February 10, 1934 – September 7, 2004) was a politician from the U.S. state of Mississippi. He was the Governor of Mississippi from 1992 until 2000.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Fordice studied engineering at Purdue University, earning a BS and MS in 1956 and 1957, respectively. After graduation he served with the United States Army as an engineer officer in the 1st Infantry Division for two years. He remained in the Army Reserve until 1977, retiring with the rank of colonel.
Fordice settled in Vicksburg and began a career in heavy construction. He won the governorship of Mississippi in the 1991 election, first winning the Republican primary against former state auditor Pete Johnson and in the general election against Democratic incumbent Ray Mabus, making him the first Republican to be elected governor since Reconstruction era governor Adelbert Ames, who served from 1874 to 1876.
Fordice successfully won re-election in 1995 against Democratic Mississippi secretary of state Dick Molpus.
Fordice was an outspoken conservative, advocating tax cuts, the abolition of race quotas, reductions in the welfare system, capital punishment, tougher prison conditions and the building of more prison cells.
However, Fordice often became an issue himself. Among the bluntest of modern American politicians, he offended blacks by refusing to apologize for Mississippi's violent history, as well as for vowing to call out the National Guard rather than enforce a court order to spend more money on the state's three historically black universities. Fordice also alienated Jews by refusing to back down from his contention that "America is a Christian nation."
Fordice's tenure was also roiled by rumors of an extramarital affair, which later led to his divorce from Pat Fordice.
After retiring, Fordice settled in Madison, Mississippi. He died of leukemia in Jackson at the age of 70. He is buried at Parkway Memorial Cemetery in Ridgeland, Mississippi.
- The Associated Press. "Kirk Fordice, 70, Former Governor of Mississippi." The New York Times. September 8, 2004.
- Edsall, Thomas B. "Miss. Governor Ending Historic Tenure," The Washington Post, February 27, 1999; Page L1
- Sansing, David G. "Kirk Fordice," Mississippi History Now
| Preceded by Ray Mabus |
Governor of Mississippi 1992-2000 |
Succeeded by Ronnie Musgrove |
| Governors of Mississippi |  |
|---|---|
| Holmes • Poindexter • Leake • Brandon • Holmes • Brandon • Scott • Lynch • Runnels • Quitman • Lynch • McNutt • Tucker • Brown • Matthews • Quitman • Guion • J. Whitfield • Foote • Pettus • McRae • McWillie • Pettus • Clark • Sharkey • Humphreys • Ames • Alcorn • Powers • Ames • Stone • Lowry • Stone • McLaurin • Longino • Vardaman • Noel • Brewer • Bilbo • Russell • H. Whitfield • Murphree • Bilbo • Conner • White • Johnson • Murphree • Bailey • Wright • White • Coleman • Barnett • Johnson Jr. • Williams • Waller • Finch • Winter • Allain • Mabus • Fordice • Musgrove • Barbour |