Keen Johnson

Keen Johnson
Official portrait, c. 1946
1st Undersecretary of Labor
In office 1946–1947
President	Harry S. Truman
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	David A. Morse
45th Governor of Kentucky
In office October 9, 1939 – December 7, 1943
Lieutenant	Rodes K. Myers
Preceded by	Happy Chandler
Succeeded by	Simeon S. Willis
37th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
In office December 10, 1935 – October 9, 1939
Governor	Happy Chandler
Preceded by	Happy Chandler
Succeeded by	Rodes K. Myers
Personal details
Born	(1896-01-12)January 12, 1896 Brandon's Chapel, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	February 7, 1970(1970-02-07) (aged 74) Richmond, Kentucky, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Eunice Nichols
Occupation	Journalist
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	American Expeditionary Force
Rank	First lieutenant
Unit	354th Infantry, 89th Division
Battles/wars	World War I

Keen Johnson (January 12, 1896 – February 7, 1970) was an American politician who served as the 45th Governor of Kentucky, serving from 1939 to 1943; being the only journalist to have held that office.^[1] After serving in World War I, Johnson purchased and edited the Elizabethtown Mirror newspaper. He revived the struggling paper, sold it to a competitor and used the profits to obtain his journalism degree from the University of Kentucky in 1922. After graduation, he became editor of The Anderson News, and in 1925, he accepted an offer to co-publish and edit the Richmond Daily Register.

In 1935, Johnson was chosen as the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor. He was elected and served under Governor A. B. "Happy" Chandler from 1935 to 1939. He had already secured the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1939 when Chandler resigned and elevated Johnson to governor so that Johnson could appoint Chandler to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the death of M. M. Logan. He went on to win a full gubernatorial term in the general election, defeating Republican King Swope. Johnson's desire to expand the state's social services was hampered by the financial strain imposed on the state by the outbreak of World War II. Nevertheless, he ran a fiscally conservative administration and took the state from being $7 million in debt to having a surplus of $10 million by the end of his term.

Following his term as governor, Johnson joined Reynolds Metals as a special assistant to the president. He continued his employment with Reynolds until 1961. He took a year-long leave of absence in 1946 to accept President Harry S. Truman's appointment as the first U.S. Undersecretary of Labor, serving under Lewis B. Schwellenbach. He unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1960, losing to incumbent Republican John Sherman Cooper. He died February 7, 1970, and was buried in Richmond Cemetery in Richmond, Kentucky.