Charles Haughey
7th Taoiseach from 1979 to 1981; 1982; 1987 to 1992
John Connally
United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1971 to 1972
John Connally was an American politician who served as the governor of Texas and the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. He started as a Democrat but later became a Republican. Connally was in the presidential limousine when President Kennedy was assassinated and was seriously wounded.
Table of Contents
About the John Connally
John Bowden Connally Jr.was an American politician who served as the 39th governor of Texasand as the 61st United States Secretary of the Treasury (1971-1972). He began his career as a Democrat and later became a Republican in 1973.
Born in Floresville, Texas, Connally pursued a legal career after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin. During World War II, he served on the staff of James Forrestal and Dwight D. Eisenhower before transferring to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. After the war, he became an aide to Senator Lyndon B. Johnson. When Johnson assumed the vice presidency in 1961, he convinced President John F. Kennedy to appoint Connally to the position of United States Secretary of the Navy. Connally left the Kennedy Administration in December 1961 to successfully run for Governor of Texas. In 1963, Connally was riding in the presidential limousine when Kennedy was assassinated, and was seriously wounded. During his governorship, he was a conservative Democrat.
In 1971, Republican President Richard Nixon appointed Connally as his treasury secretary. In this position, Connally presided over the removal of the United States dollar from the gold standard, an event known as the Nixon shock. Connally stepped down from the Cabinet in 1972 to lead the Democrats for Nixon organization, which campaigned for Nixon’s re-election. He was a candidate to replace Vice President Spiro Agnew after the latter resigned in 1973, but Nixon chose Gerald Ford instead. He sought the Republican nomination for president in the 1980 election, but withdrew from the race after the first set of primaries. Connally did not seek public office again after 1980 and died of pulmonary fibrosis in 1993.
Frequently Asked Questions
John Connally was an American politician who served as the 39th governor of Texas from 1963 to 1969 and as the 61st United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1971 to 1972.
John Connally began his career as a Democrat but later became a Republican in 1973.
John Connally was riding in the presidential limousine with President Kennedy when he was assassinated, and Connally was seriously wounded in the attack.
In 1971, Republican President Richard Nixon appointed John Connally as his treasury secretary, and Connally presided over the removal of the United States dollar from the gold standard.
After leaving the Nixon administration, John Connally sought the Republican nomination for president in the 1980 election but withdrew from the race after the first set of primaries. He did not seek public office again after 1980.
John Connally was born in Floresville, Texas.
During World War II, John Connally served on the staff of James Forrestal and Dwight D. Eisenhower before transferring to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. After the war, he became an aide to Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, which helped launch his political career.