Louie Nunn

Louie Nunn
Nunn in 1969
52nd Governor of Kentucky
In office December 12, 1967 – December 7, 1971
Lieutenant	Wendell Ford
Preceded by	Ned Breathitt
Succeeded by	Wendell Ford
Personal details
Born	Louie Broady Nunn (1924-03-08)March 8, 1924 Park, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	January 29, 2004(2004-01-29) (aged 79) Versailles, Kentucky, U.S.
Resting place	Cosby Cemetery LeGrande, Kentucky, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Beula Cornelius Aspley ​ ​ (m. 1950; div. 1994)​
Children	2, including Steve
Education	Western Kentucky University (BA) University of Cincinnati University of Louisville (LLB)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1943–1945
Rank	Corporal
Unit	97th Infantry Division Army Medical Corps
Battles/wars	World War II

Louie Broady Nunn (March 8, 1924 – January 29, 2004) was an American politician who served as the 52nd governor of Kentucky. Elected in 1967, he was the only Republican to hold the office between the end of Simeon Willis's term in 1947 and the election of Ernie Fletcher in 2003.

After rendering non-combat service in World War II and graduating from law school, Nunn entered local politics, becoming the first Republican county judge in the history of Barren County, Kentucky. He worked on the campaigns of Republican candidates for national office, including John Sherman Cooper, Thruston Morton, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. He was the Republican nominee for governor in 1963, but ultimately lost a close election to Democrat Ned Breathitt. An executive order signed by Governor Bert T. Combs that desegregated Kentucky's public services became a major issue in the campaign. Nunn vowed to repeal the order if elected, while Breathitt promised to continue it.

In 1967, Nunn ran for governor again. After defeating Marlow Cook in the Republican gubernatorial primary, he eked out a victory over Democrat Henry Ward. The state offices were split between Democrats and Republicans, and Nunn was saddled with a Democratic lieutenant governor, Wendell Ford. Despite a Democratic majority in the General Assembly, Nunn was able to enact most of his priorities, including tax increases that funded improvements to the state park system and the construction of a statewide network of mental health centers. He oversaw the transition of Northern Kentucky University from a community college to a senior institution and brought the University of Louisville into the state university system. The later years of his administration were marred by race riots in Louisville and a violent protest against the Vietnam War at the University of Kentucky. Following his term as governor, he lost to Walter Dee Huddleston in the 1972 senatorial election and John Y. Brown Jr. in the 1979 gubernatorial election. In his later years, he sometimes supported the political ambitions of his son, Steve, and advocated for the legalization of industrial hemp in Kentucky. He died of a heart attack on January 29, 2004.