Ned McWherter | Ex-Tenn. governor, 80
Ned McWherter, 80, a former two-term Democratic governor of Tennessee who once served as a political adviser to President Bill Clinton, died Monday at a hospital in Nashville. He had cancer, assistant Madelyn Pritchett said.
Ned McWherter, 80, a former two-term Democratic governor of Tennessee who once served as a political adviser to President Bill Clinton, died Monday at a hospital in Nashville. He had cancer, assistant Madelyn Pritchett said.
Mr. McWherter, a child of sharecroppers who rose to become a millionaire businessman, was governor from 1987 to 1995 after 20 years in the state legislature. As governor, he sought to put more computers in classrooms and boost teacher pay while promising honest government.
He was a member of the U.S. Postal Board after serving as governor.
His son, Mike McWherter, lost the 2010 governor's race to Republican Bill Haslam.
Clinton said Mr. McWherter played a key role in helping him carry Tennessee in his presidential elections.
- AP