Editing Reubin Askew (section)

{{Short description|American politician (1928–2014)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Reubin Askew
| image               = Ruebin Askew official portrait.jpg
| caption             = A 1971 portrait of Askew
| office              = 7th [[United States Trade Representative]]
| president           = [[Jimmy Carter]]
| term_start          = October 1, 1979
| term_end            = December 31, 1980
| predecessor         = [[Robert S. Strauss]]
| successor           = [[Bill Brock]]
| order1              = [[National Governors Association#Chairs|Chair of the National Governors Association]]
| term_start1         = January 23, 1977
| term_end1           = September 9, 1977
| predecessor1        = [[Cecil Andrus]]
| successor1          = [[William Milliken]]
| order2              = 37th [[List of governors of Florida|Governor of Florida]]
| lieutenant2         = [[Thomas Burton Adams Jr.]]<br/>[[Jim Williams (Florida)|Jim Williams]]
| term_start2         = January 5, 1971
| term_end2           = January 2, 1979
| predecessor2        = [[Claude R. Kirk Jr.]]
| successor2          = [[Bob Graham]]
| state_senate3       = Florida
| district3           = 2nd
| term_start3         = November 6, 1962
| term_end3           = November 3, 1970
| predecessor3        = Philip D. Beall<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uflib.ufl.edu/fefdl/florida/Senate18452001.html/|title=Florida Senators|date=December 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229053123/http://uflib.ufl.edu/fefdl/florida/Senate18452001.html/|accessdate=January 4, 2025|archive-date=December 29, 2016}}</ref>
| successor3          = [[W. D. Childers]]
| office4             = Member of the <br/>[[Florida House of Representatives]]<br/> from [[Escambia County, Florida|Escambia County]]
| term_start4         = November 4, 1958
| term_end4           = November 6, 1962
| predecessor4        = J. B. Hopkins
| successor4          = Gordon W. Wells
| birth_name          = Reubin O'Donovan Askew
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1928|9|11}}
| birth_place         = [[Muskogee, Oklahoma]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2014|3|13|1928|9|11}}
| death_place         = [[Tallahassee, Florida]], U.S.
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|Donna Lou Harper|August 1956}}
| children            = 2
| education           = [[Florida State University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br/>[[University of Florida]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])
| signature           = Reubin Askew's signature.png
| allegiance          = {{flag|United States|1912}}
| branch              = {{army|United States}}
| serviceyears        = 1946–1948
| rank                = [[File:Army-USA-OR-05.svg|15px]] [[Sergeant]]
| unit                = [[Paratrooper]]
}}
'''Reubin O'Donovan Askew''' (September 11, 1928 – March 13, 2014) was an [[Politics of the United States|American politician]], who served as the 37th [[governor of Florida]] from 1971 to 1979. A member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], he served as the 7th [[U.S. Trade Representative|U.S. trade representative]] from 1979 to 1980 under President [[Jimmy Carter]]. He led on tax reform, [[civil rights]], and financial transparency for public officials, maintaining an outstanding reputation for personal integrity.<ref name="top50"/>

Born in [[Muskogee, Oklahoma]], Askew served as a military intelligence officer in the [[United States Air Force]] during the [[Korean War]]. He established a legal practice in [[Pensacola, Florida]], after graduating from the [[Fredric G. Levin College of Law|University of Florida Levin College of Law]] in 1955. Askew won election to the [[Florida House of Representatives]] in 1958 and to the [[Florida Senate]] in 1962. He defeated incumbent [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] governor [[Claude R. Kirk Jr.]] in the 1970 gubernatorial election and won re-election in 1974.

As governor, Askew presided over the imposition of the state's first [[corporate tax]]. He was one of the first of the "[[New South]]" governors and supported school [[desegregation]]. Askew is widely thought to have been one of the state's best governors; in 2014 the ''[[Tampa Bay Times]]'' ranked him the second best governor in Florida history and the [[Harvard Kennedy School]] at [[Harvard University]] rated him one of the country's top ten governors of the 20th century.<ref name="tampabay">{{cite news | url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/legislature/times-may-have-changed-but-former-florida-gov-reubin-askew-hasnt/2133837/ | title=Times may have changed, but former Florida Gov. Reubin Askew hasn't | work=[[Tampa Bay Times]] | date=July 29, 2013 | access-date=November 25, 2013 | author=Bosquet. Steve}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=If Gov. Rick Scott only had a heart|url=https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/the-tin-man-if-the-governor-only-had-a-heart/2167877/|access-date=March 13, 2014|newspaper=Tampa Bay Times|date=February 28, 2014}}</ref> Askew was the keynote speaker at the [[1972 Democratic National Convention]] and declined an offer to serve as [[George McGovern]]'s running mate in the [[1972 United States presidential election|1972 presidential election]].

Askew served as the [[Office of the United States Trade Representative|United States trade representative]] from 1979 to 1981. He sought the Democratic nomination in the [[1984 United States presidential election|1984 presidential election]] but withdrew early in the race. After leaving public office, Askew taught at the public universities of Florida.