John Connally

John Connally
Connally in 1961
61st United States Secretary of the Treasury
In office February 11, 1971 – June 12, 1972
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	David M. Kennedy
Succeeded by	George Shultz
39th Governor of Texas
In office January 15, 1963 – January 21, 1969
Lieutenant	Preston Smith
Preceded by	Price Daniel
Succeeded by	Preston Smith
56th United States Secretary of the Navy
In office January 25, 1961 – December 20, 1961
President	John F. Kennedy
Preceded by	William B. Franke
Succeeded by	Fred Korth
Personal details
Born	John Bowden Connally Jr. (1917-02-27)February 27, 1917 Floresville, Texas, U.S.
Died	June 15, 1993(1993-06-15) (aged 76) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Resting place	Texas State Cemetery
Political party	Republican (from 1973)
Other political affiliations	Democratic (until 1973)
Spouse	Nellie Brill ​ (m. 1940)​
Children	4
Relatives	Wayne Connally (brother)
Education	University of Texas, Austin (BA, LLB)
Signature
Military service
Branch/service	United States Navy
Rank	Lieutenant commander
Battles/wars	World War II

John Bowden Connally Jr. (February 27, 1917 – June 15, 1993) was an American politician who served as the 39th governor of Texas (1963–1969) and 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.