The Claude Pepper Library highlights the life and legacy of Reubin O’Donovan Askew.
Reubin Askew was an American politician, who served as the 37th governor of the State of Florida from 1971-1979. During his administration, he became a tenacious advocate of tax reform, consumer protection, financial transparency, education financing, and civil rights. Most importantly, throughout Askew’s career he maintained an impeccable reputation for his integrity and loyalty to his family and all Floridians.
Reubin O. Askew, was born on September 11, 1928 in Muskogee, Oklahoma. In 1937, he and his mother moved to Pensacola, where Reubin graduated from Pensacola High School in 1946. Later in 1946, he entered the United States Army as a paratrooper and was discharged as a Sergeant. Askew then attended college at Florida State University where he received a B.S. in Public Administration before joining the United States Air Force in 1951. Askew also served as president of FSU’s Government Association and student body president during his years at FSU. In 1951-2 he received his Masters’ degree in Public Administration from the University of Denver and Florida State University. In 1956, he received his LLB from the University of Florida. Over the course of his lifetime, Askew was granted 15 Honorary Degrees from multiple institutions.
Askew’s public official career began when he served as Assistant County Solicitor for Escambia County from 1956-1958. In 1958, he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives and then to the State Senate in 1962. During his tenure in the State Senate, he served as President Pro Tempore from 1969-1970. Askew was elected Governor in 1970 and again in 1974, making him the first Governor to be elected for a second, consecutive 4-year term.
After retiring as Governor in early 1979, Askew joined the Miami law firm of Greenberg, Traurig, Askew, Hoffman, Lipoff, Rosen and Quentell. In October of 1979, he was appointed by President Jimmy Carter as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary as a United States Trade Representative. In 1984, Askew became the first Floridian to run for President of the United States and in 1987 he announced his candidacy for United States Senate.
Following his political campaign activities, he and his wife, Donna Lou Askew, resided in Tallahassee, Florida, where Askew served as the Professor and Eminent Scholar Chair in Florida Government and Politics.
If you are a student or researcher, who needs primary resources on Reubin O. Askew, please feel free to come by the Claude Pepper Library to view the collection in its entirety. The collection consist of congressional correspondence during the time he served in the House of Representatives, Florida State Senate, and as Governor of Florida. The Pepper Library also has Askew’s campaign files, newspaper articles, photographs, audiovisual materials, memorabilia, and copies of speeches. A finding aid for the collection can be viewed online. The collection was donated by Reubin O’Donovan Askew in 2008.
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