David Boren, former governor of Oklahoma, US Senator, OU President, dies at 83

David Boren, the 21st Governor of Oklahoma, who later represented the state in the US Senate and worked as President of the University of Oklahoma, died at the age of 83.

According to his family, Boren died on Thursday. According to family spokesman Bob Burke, Boren was surrounded by the family at the time of his death.

See also: News 9 Review: remember David Borens 1st day as OU President

Boren was as a governor of Oklahoma from 1975 to 1979 and represented the state in the US Senate from 1979 to 1994. A conservative democrat, Boren, remains the last member of his party who held a seat in the USA Senate from Oklahoma. After leaving the Senate, he became the 13th President of the University of Oklahoma and served from 1994 until his retirement in 2018.

Early political career and governor

Boren started his political career in 1967 when he was elected to the Oklahoma representative and served four terms of office until 1974.

During this time he also practiced law in seminols, served as the captain of the National Guard of the Oklahoma Army and headed the Department of Social Sciences at the Oklahoma Baptist University.

In 1974 Boren started a governor campaign with the now famous “Boren Broom Brigade”, which promised to “step out the old guard” and to bring reform to the state government. Its platform focused on the transparency of the government, the reform of the campaign financing and the improvement of the corrections. He won the election against Republican James M. Inhofe and at that time became the youngest governor of the nation, who was inaugurated on January 12, 1975 at the age of 33.

Bores for tax cuts, the reorganization of the state government, correction reform and educational financing were committed as governor. He led the adoption of the “sunset”, which removed more than 100 state authorities and fought for the compensation reform of the employees. Nationally, he recognized the energy crisis in the 1970s to support the deregulation of natural gas prices, which led to his appointment by President Jimmy Carter as chairman of a National Energy Task Force.

US -Senat career

In 1978 Boren announced his candidacy for the US Senate and swore to bring his reform agenda to Washington. He won the choice and served three terms, establishing himself as a cross -party leader and expert for political compromises. As the chairman of the Senate’s secret service shot, he played a key role in national security and the supervision of the national secret services. He was re -elected twice before returning in 1994.

President of the University of Oklahoma

Boren left the Senate in 1994 to become President of the University of Oklahoma. Under his leadership, OU recorded considerable financial growth, secured important contributions and positioned the university for the best -financed institutions of the nation. He also founded the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence to support education initiatives.

Boren retired in June 2018 as President of the University of Oklahoma.