Gov. Walter Maddock

WALTER J. MADDOCK, the fifteenth governor of North Dakota, was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota on September 13, 1880. His education was attained at Northwestern Business College in Grand Forks. Maddock first entered politics as one of the founders of the Nonpartisan League. He also was a member of the North Dakota House of Representatives from 1915 to 1925; and served as the lieutenant governor of North Dakota from 1925 to 1928. On August 28, 1928 Governor Arthur G. Sorlie died in office, and Maddock, who was the lieutenant governor at the time, assumed the duties of the governorship. During his short tenure, he continued to support the policies of the Sorlie administration. After running unsuccessfully for a term of his own as the Democratic Party Nominee in 1928, Maddock returned to his farming interests. He later served as a senior officer of the regional Agricultural Adjustment Administration, as well as serving as director of the North Dakota Farm Security Administration office, a position he held from 1937 to 1950. Governor Walter J. Maddock passed away on January 25, 1951 in Bismarck, North Dakota.