Editing Bill Clements (section)

{{Short description|American businessman and politician (1917–2011)}}
{{other people|William Clements}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Bill Clements
| image               = File:Bill Clements in 1978 (cropped).jpg
| caption             = Governor Clements in 1978
| order               = 42nd & 44th
| office              = Governor of Texas
| term_start          = January 20, 1987
| term_end            = January 15, 1991
| lieutenant          = [[William P. Hobby Jr.]]
| predecessor         = [[Mark White (Texas politician)|Mark White]]
| successor           = [[Ann Richards]]
| term_start2         = January 16, 1979
| term_end2           = January 18, 1983
| lieutenant2         = William P. Hobby Jr.
| predecessor2        = [[Dolph Briscoe]]
| successor2          = [[Mark White (Texas politician)|Mark White]]
| order3              = Acting [[United States Secretary of Defense]]
| term_start3         = May 24, 1973
| term_end3           = July 2, 1973
| president3          = [[Richard Nixon]]
| predecessor3        = [[Elliot Richardson]]
| successor3          = [[James R. Schlesinger]]
| order4              = 15th [[United States Deputy Secretary of Defense]]
| term_start4         = January 30, 1973
| term_end4           = January 20, 1977
| president4          = [[Richard Nixon]]<br />[[Gerald Ford]]
| predecessor4        = [[Kenneth Rush]]
| successor4          = [[Robert Ellsworth]]
| birth_name          = William Perry Clements Jr.
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1917|4|13}}
| birth_place         = [[Dallas]], [[Texas]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age |2011|5|29|1917|4|17}}
| death_place         = Dallas, Texas, U.S.
| resting_place       = Grove Hill Memorial Park Dallas, Texas
| spouse              = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Pauline Gill|1940|1975|end=div.}}
* {{marriage|[[Rita Crocker Clements|Rita Crocker]]|1975}}
}}
| party               = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| children            = 2
| residence           = Dallas, Texas
| alma_mater          = [[Southern Methodist University]]
| profession          = [[Petroleum|Oil]] driller
| allegiance          = <!-- United States -->
| branch              = [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]]
| serviceyears        = 1941–1945
| battles             = [[World War II]]
}}
'''William Perry Clements Jr.''' (April 13, 1917&nbsp;&ndash; May 29, 2011) was an American businessman and [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] politician who served two nonconsecutive terms as the [[governor of Texas]] between 1979 and 1991. His terms bookended the sole term served by [[Mark White (Texas politician)|Mark Wells White]], a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] who defeated Clements in the 1982 election only to lose his campaign for reelection in 1986.

When Clements was first sworn in 1979, he became the first Republican to have served as governor of Texas since [[Reconstruction Era of the United States|Reconstruction]]. When Clements left office for good at the end of his second term in 1991, his eight years in office were the most served by any Texas governor until [[Rick Perry]] surpassed his total in 2009. Clements was the first governor to be elected to multiple terms since Texas changed its [[Constitution of Texas|constitution]] in 1972 to extend its governor's term of office to four years. Since then, [[George W. Bush]], Rick Perry, and [[Greg Abbott]], also Republicans, have all won multiple terms.

Before he became Governor of Texas, Clements made his fortune in [[crude oil]] and served as [[United States Deputy Secretary of Defense]] for President [[Richard Nixon]]. After his first gubernatorial term ended, Clements joined the administrative staff at [[Southern Methodist University]] where he served as chairman of the Board of Governors. While there, he presided over a [[Southern Methodist University football scandal|massive pay-to-play system in the school's football program]] that resulted in catastrophic consequences for the team and the end of his political career.