Ted Schwinden

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American politician (1925–2023)

title: "Ted Schwinden" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1925-births", "2023-deaths", "lutherans-from-montana", "democratic-party-governors-of-montana", "democratic-party-members-of-the-montana-house-of-representatives", "lieutenant-governors-of-montana", "military-personnel-from-montana", "people-from-wolf-point,-montana", "united-states-army-personnel-of-world-war-ii", "university-of-montana-alumni", "20th-century-members-of-the-montana-legislature"] description: "American politician (1925–2023)" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Schwinden" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American politician (1925–2023) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	Ted Schwinden
image	File:Ted-Schwinden-as-Governor.jpg
order	19th
office	Governor of Montana
lieutenant
term_start	January 5, 1981
term_end	January 2, 1989
predecessor	Tom Judge
successor	Stan Stephens
order1	26th
office1	Lieutenant Governor of Montana
governor1	Tom Judge
term_start1	January 3, 1977
term_end1	January 5, 1981
predecessor1	Bill Christiansen
successor1	George Turman
birth_name	Theodore Schwinden
birth_date
birth_place	Roosevelt County, Montana, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
party	Democratic
spouse
children	3
education
allegiance
branch	United States Army
serviceyears	1944–1946
battles	World War II
::

Theodore Schwinden (August 31, 1925 – October 7, 2023) was an American politician from Montana. He was the 19th governor of Montana from 1981 to 1989. He had previously served as the 26th lieutenant governor of Montana and as a member of the Montana House of Representatives.

Biography

Theodore Schwinden was born in Roosevelt County, Montana, on his family's farm on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation between Wolf Point and Poplar. Schwinden was a valedictorian at his high school. He enlisted in the United States Army and served in both the European and Pacific theaters in World War II. He left the army in 1946. He earned a bachelor's and master's from the University of Montana. He was studying toward a PhD in economics at the University of Minnesota before he had to return to his family farm due to his father's ill health.

Career

A member of the Democratic Party, Schwinden was elected to the Montana House of Representatives in 1958, defeating Republican incumbent Chris S. Tange to represent Roosevelt County. Schwinden completed two terms in the House but was unsuccessful in his campaign for a third term. He was elected and named to the Legislative Council in 1959. He served as the House minority whip in 1961. In 1965, he was elected president of the Grain Growers Association. In 1969, he was named Commissioner of State Lands by governor Forrest H. Anderson. He was reappointed in 1973 and served until April 1976. Schwinden resigned to campaign for lieutenant governor and was elected the 23rd lieutenant governor of Montana, serving under Governor Thomas Lee Judge. He served as lieutenant governor from 1977 to 1981.

Schwinden defeated Judge in the Democratic primary in 1980. He then beat Republican Jack Ramirez in that year's gubernatorial election to become the 19th governor of Montana. He was re-elected governor in 1984, getting the victory over State Senator Pat M. Goodover. Hallmarks of Schwinden's governorship were his "Build Montana" economic plan and popular traveling "Capital for a Day" events, and was known for leading Montana through its economic difficulties. He took pride in being what he felt was a governor who maintained an open and attentive approach to the needs and concerns of the public. Despite favorable polling in 1988, he chose not to seek a third term as governor, staying true to his promise of serving only two terms in office.

Personal life and death

Schwinden married the former Jean Christianson in 1946. Schwinden and his wife had two sons, Mike Schwinden and Dore Schwinden, and one daughter, Chrys Anderson. Jean Schwinden died from cancer on March 24, 2007, at age 81.

In his later years, Schwinden lived with his daughter in Phoenix, Arizona. He died in Phoenix on October 7, 2023, at the age of 98.

References

"Former State Governors". www.netstate.com.
"Governor Ted Schwinden". Montana Historical Society.
"Ted Schwinden". National Governors Association.
(January 2016). "Biography of Ted Schwinden". Biographies and Photos of Series Participants.
(December 28, 2020). "Gov. Ted Schwinden cared for Montana".
(November 19, 2020). "A talk with Ted: Catching up with former Montana Governor Schwinden".
(June 13, 1958). "Demo Emphasis Appears Aimed at Greater Strength in Senate". The People's Voice.
(January 1, 2016). "Biography of Ted Schwinden". Biographies and Photos of Series Participants.
"Schwinden, Ted (b. 1925)". The Political Graveyard.
(June 5, 1980). "Schwinden exults after beating Judge". The Spokesman Review.
Neuharth, Allen H.. (June 8, 1987). "MONTANA;We want to grow, and protect a way of life". USA Today.
(October 9, 2023). "Former Montana Gov. Schwinden dies at 98".
Raimo, John. (October 9, 1985). "Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1978–1983". Meckler Pub..
(March 25, 2007). "Former first lady dies of cancer". Helenair.com.
(October 8, 2023). "'Tough old bird': Straight-talking former Montana governor Ted Schwinden dies at 98". [[Billings Gazette]].
Ambarian, Jonathon. (October 8, 2023). "Former Montana Gov. Schwinden dies at 98". [[KPAX-TV]].

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