Walter H. Jurgensen

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

Walter H. Jurgensen
20th Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska
In office
1933–1938
GovernorCharles W. Bryan
Robert Leroy Cochran
Preceded byTheodore Metcalfe
Succeeded byNate M. Parsons
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
Republican (previously)

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.[1]

Before seeking political office, Jurgensen served as president of the Western Union Life Insurance Company in Lincoln, Nebraska.[2] 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.[3][4]

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.[5] 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]

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.[7] Jurgensen contested the conviction and sought renomination for a fourth term as lieutenant governor, but was declared ineligible to participate in the primary.[8] His successor, Democrat Nate M. Parsons, was elected to fill out the term—and served less than two months.

He was sentenced to serve two to five years, and was freed by the state pardon board in December 1940 after making an unopposed request to be released.[9][10]

References
  1. Sheldon, Addison Erwin. Nebraska, The Land and the People, Vol. 3 (1931)
  2. "Jurgenson Mum On State Plans". Capital City Times. December 2, 1932. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  3. "Walter H. Jurgensen: Republican". The Lincoln Star. April 8, 1928. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  4. "The Public Pulse". Omaha World-Herald. April 1, 1932. Retrieved May 29, 2023. ...Walter H. Jurgensen... was a candidate on the republican ticket against Senator Charles J. Warner.
  5. (9 November 1932). State Vote Reflecting U.S. Poll, Kearney Hub
  6. (6 January 1937). One-Chamber Nebraska Assembly Opens, The New York Times (Associated Press story)
  7. (26 June 1938). Lieut. Governor Out: Nebraska Court Removes Official In Embezzling Case, The New York Times
  8. (27 June 2012). Time Capsule, Omaha World Herald
  9. (13 December 1940). Ex-Nebraska Official Freed, Telegraph-Herald (Associated Press)
  10. (10 February 1939). Jurgensen Retains Office Despite His Conviction By Jury, Kearney Hub, pp. 1, 8.
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