Editing Bill Clements

{{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.

== Early life and career ==
Born in [[Dallas, Texas]], Clements graduated from [[Highland Park High School (University Park, Texas)|Highland Park High School]] in the Dallas suburb of [[University Park, Texas|University Park]] in 1934.<ref name="handbook">{{cite web|url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/clements-william-perry-jr-bill|title= Clements, William Perry, Jr. [Bill] (1917–2011) |last=Slaughter|first=George|work=Handbook of Texas|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=September 26, 2020}}</ref> Although Clements was an all-state [[offensive guard]] on the Highland Park football team, after his father lost his job due to the [[Great Depression]], Clements worked as an oil driller in [[South Texas]] after graduating from high school.<ref name="Dallas Morning News">{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504234546/http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20110529-bill-clements-texas-first-republican-governor-in-more-than-a-century-dies.ece|archive-date=May 4, 2012|title=Bill Clements, Texas' first GOP governor in more than a century, dies |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20110529-bill-clements-texas-first-republican-governor-in-more-than-a-century-dies|work=The Dallas Morning News|date=May 29, 2011|last=Stutz|first=Terrence|access-date=September 26, 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref> In the late 1930s, Clements studied engineering at [[Southern Methodist University]] before dropping out and returning to the oil industry.<ref name="Dallas Morning News"/> During [[World War II]], Clements served in the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]].<ref name="handbook"/>

[[File:Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger with Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff General George S. Brown and Deputy Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger and Air Force Chief of Staff General David C. Jones.jpg|left|thumb|222x222px|[[United States Deputy Secretary of Defense|Deputy Secretary of Defense]] Bill Clements met with [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]] [[James R. Schlesinger|James Schlesinger]], [[Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff]] General [[George Scratchley Brown|George S. Brown]], and [[Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force|Air Force Chief of Staff]] General [[David C. Jones]] at the [[White House]] in January 1975.|alt=]]

In 1947, Clements founded the offshore drilling business Southeastern Drilling Company (SEDCO), which would expand to 20 countries and grow into the top drilling contracting company in the world before being sold to [[Schlumberger]] in 1984.<ref name="handbook"/><ref name="Dallas Morning News"/> Clements had a personal wealth worth nearly $30 million by 1978, the year he first ran for Texas governor.<ref name="Dallas Morning News"/>

From 1973 to 1977, Clements served as [[United States Deputy Secretary of Defense]] under Presidents [[Richard Nixon]] and [[Gerald Ford]].<ref name="handbook"/> For 39 days in 1973, Clements served as acting Secretary of Defense.

Among the Secretaries of Defense he served under was [[Donald Rumsfeld]], during the latter's first tenure in the office. The two men did not get along, yet when Rumsfeld was appointed, Clements resisted efforts to be moved to another department, even going so far as to threaten, if removed from his office, to hold a press conference and label his dismissal a "power play." Though Clements remained as deputy secretary, Clements later termed his time under Rumsfeld "very unpleasant."<ref>{{cite book|last=Graham|first=Bradley|title=By His Own Rules: The Story of Donald Rumsfeld|date=2009|publisher=PublicAffairs|isbn=978-1586484217|page=135}}</ref>

== First Term as Governor of Texas (1979–1983) ==
{{Main|1978 Texas gubernatorial election}}
On January 16, 1979, Clements succeeded [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[Dolph Briscoe]] as governor of Texas. To win the position, he first defeated [[Texas Legislature|state Representative]] [[Ray Hutchison (politician)|Ray Hutchison]] in the Republican primary by a lopsided vote of 115,345 to 38,268. He won the general election held on November 7, 1978, by narrowly defeating Democratic former [[Texas Supreme Court]] Chief Justice [[John Hill (Texas politician)|John Luke Hill]], who had also served six years as [[Attorney General of Texas|state attorney general]]. Clements polled 1,183,828 votes (49.96 percent) to Hill's 1,166,919 votes (49.24 percent).

His first term was marked by SEDCO's involvement in the largest oil blowout in history, the [[Ixtoc I oil spill]], which caused extensive environmental damage. Clements faced heavily Democratic state legislatures during his tenure. In 1979, the legislature overrode one of his vetoes, the last time that Texas lawmakers had completed an override. In 1980, Clements commuted the death sentence of [[Randall Dale Adams]] to life in prison. Adams, the subject of ''[[The Thin Blue Line (1988 film)|The Thin Blue Line]]'', an [[Errol Morris]] documentary film, was exonerated in 1989 after serving twelve years in prison.  Clements was also governor at the time of the execution of [[Carlos DeLuna]], who was put to death in 1989; evidence questioning the findings of the facts that underlie DeLuna's conviction was published in 2012.

Clements ran for reelection in 1982 but was defeated by Democratic Attorney General [[Mark White (Texas politician)|Mark Wells White]] by more than 327,000 votes because of sagging economic indicators and weak support from minority voters, who historically support Democratic candidates.  Clements was also damaged politically by the [[Ixtoc I oil spill]] disaster; the rig that failed was owned by SEDCO, but leased to Permargo (a Mexican drilling firm), which had an exploration contract with [[Pemex]], despite his shares in SEDCO, being held in blind trust at the time.<ref>{{cite web |author=Olive Talley |date=June 10, 1983 |title=Oil driller settles one group of suits from Mexico oil spill |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/06/10/Oil-driller-settles-one-group-of-suits-from-Mexico-oil-spill/7424424065600/ |access-date=August 7, 2017 |publisher=[[UPI]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=William K. Stephens |date=September 23, 1979 |title=TEXAS POLITICS FEEL RESIDUE OF OIL SPILL |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/09/23/archives/texas-politics-feel-residue-of-oil-spill-governors-company-owned.html |access-date=August 7, 2017 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> His opponent, White, as attorney general, led the state's lawsuit against SEDCO.  White received 1,697,870 votes (53.2 percent) to Clements's 1,465,537 (45.9 percent).

== Staging the 1986 comeback ==
{{Main|Texas gubernatorial election, 1986}}

In between his two terms as governor, Clements was chairman of the board of governors of [[Southern Methodist University]] in Dallas. He ran again in 1986 and won a contested GOP primary against [[U.S. Representative]] [[Thomas Loeffler]] of [[New Braunfels, Texas|New Braunfels]], the seat of [[Comal County, Texas|Comal County]], and former Democratic-turned-Republican Congressman [[Kent Hance]] of [[Lubbock, Texas|Lubbock]]. In the fall, Clements unseated Governor White, who was hurt by the unpopularity of the "no pass/no play" policy involving high school athletics and proposed teacher competency testing. In gaining his second term, Clements polled 1,813,779 ballots (52.7 percent) to White's 1,584,512 (46.1 percent). Clements had turned the tables on White in a near mathematical reversal of the 1982 results and was inaugurated for a second nonconsecutive term on January 20, 1987, just after White came "struggling up to Clements in the Capitol rotunda" and extended a hand for a handshake with congratulations, and Clements simply shook it without comment and turned away.<ref>"Bill Clements, Texian to his toenails", Carolyn Barta, Eakin Press 1996, p. 336</ref>

== Second term as Governor of Texas (1987–1991) ==
Clements's second term was marred by a startling revelation he made two months after taking office. On March 3, 1987, Clements admitted that he and the other members of the SMU board of governors had approved a secret plan to [[Southern Methodist University football scandal|continue payments to 13 football players]] from a [[slush fund]] provided by a booster. Clements said that the board agreed to "phase out" the slush fund at the end of the 1986 season but that it felt duty-bound to honour prior commitments to the players. The decision to continue the payments ultimately led to the [[NCAA]] shutting down the football program for the 1987 season—the so-called "[[death penalty (NCAA)|death penalty]]."  SMU then opted not to field a team in 1988 either, claiming it could not put together a competitive squad. The shutdown and other sanctions left the once-proud Mustang football program in ruin; SMU would not procure another bowl bid until 2009, and it would also be another ten years before they would be ranked in the top 25 in the [[Amway Coaches Poll]] by [[USA Today]].  A few months later, the College of Bishops of the [[United Methodist Church]] released a report detailing an investigation of its own into the scandal. It revealed that Clements had met with athletic director Bob Hitch, and the two agreed that the payments had to continue because the football program had "a payroll to meet."<ref name="ExpresNews">Wangrin, Mark.  [http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/football/stories/MYSA030307.01A.smu-clements.36d2bf0.html 20 years after SMU's football scandal] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090803020250/http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/MYSA030307_01A_smu-clements_36d2bf0_html12919.html |date=August 3, 2009 }}.  ''[[San Antonio Express-News]]'', March 3, 2007.</ref>

According to the report, in late 1985, then SMU President [[L. Donald Shields]] and board of trustees chairman Edwin L. Cox wanted to stop the payments completely, in opposition to Clements and Hitch. The four held a "most important meeting" in August 1985 in Shields's office in the SMU administration building, Perkins Hall.  Shields and Cox noted that although earlier in the year a phase-out of the payments had been agreed upon by SMU leadership, the NCAA had just enacted the "death penalty" for repeat violators (of which SMU was one, having been cited six times to that point by the organization and twice in the last five years) for violations occurring on or after September 1 of that year, and thus the situation had changed. But Clements, admitting his way would be "taking a chance," argued that if the payments were stopped immediately, star players receiving them would be sure to leave SMU and publicly announce why. Nothing was formally decided at the meeting, but afterwards, Clements and Hitch talked for about fifteen minutes in the Perkins Hall parking lot. Hitch remembered Clements asking him if the payments could be continued and, upon hearing that they could, telling him in no uncertain terms to "do it." And the payments continued (on at least two occasions starting in 1983, after President Shields expressed outrage over the payments and said they had to stop, Clements, an SMU dropout, told the PhD holder Shields to "stay out of it" and to "go run the university").<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smudailycampus.com/polopoly_fs/1.1377705!/bishops.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=November 13, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406025150/http://www.smudailycampus.com/polopoly_fs/1.1377705%21/bishops.pdf |archive-date=April 6, 2012 }}</ref>

A week later, Clements apologised for his role in continuing the payments. He said that he had learned about the slush fund in 1984, and an investigation by the board of governors revealed that players had been paid to play since the mid-1970s. Clements said that rather than shutting down the payments immediately, the board "reluctantly and uncomfortably" decided to continue paying players who had already been guaranteed payments. However, he said, in hindsight, the board "should have stopped (the payments) immediately," rather than merely phase them out.<ref>Munoz, T. James.  [https://web.archive.org/web/20121020151854/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1310625.html Clements apologizes for SMU role; governor fails to name others involved in football payments].  ''[[The Washington Post]]'', March 11, 1987.</ref>

Clements faced calls for his [[impeachment in the United States|impeachment]] as a result of these statements; two state legislators argued that he would have never been elected had he honestly addressed his role in the scandal. Under the circumstances, he opted not to run for a third term as governor and was succeeded on January 15, 1991, by Democratic State Treasurer [[Ann Richards]].

During his second term, Clements worked to reduce crime, improve education, boost the Texas economy, and foster better relations with Mexico, especially on issues important to the mutual borders, such as immigration and the [[War on Drugs]]. However, he did not push as pledged for the [[Popular initiative|initiative]] and [[referendum]] reforms advocated by [[Texas State Senate|State Senator]] [[Walter Mengden]] of [[Houston, Texas|Houston]], based on the principle of [[California]]'s [[Proposition 13]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Initiative and Referendum Institute |url=http://www.iandrinstitute.org/Texas.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118125336/http://www.iandrinstitute.org/Texas.htm |archive-date=January 18, 2012 |access-date=September 10, 2011 |publisher=iandrinstitute.org}}</ref>

== Post-political life ==
[[File:Bill Clements 1981.jpg|thumb|Clements in 1981]]
In June 2009, Clements donated $100 million to [[UT Southwestern Medical Center]], the largest civic donation in Dallas history.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/061209dnbusclementsgift.281edb8.html|title=News - Dallas News|website=Dallas News|access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref> On April 13, 2012, [[Daniel K. Podolsky]], President of UT Southwestern Medical Center announced that the UT System Board of Regents had approved the naming of the new UT Southwestern University Hospital in honor of Clements. On February 16, 2010, Clements and his wife both endorsed Governor [[Rick Perry]]'s re-election campaign in the 2010 Texas Republican gubernatorial primary against [[Kay Bailey Hutchison]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.texastribune.org/2010/02/16/clements-endorses-perry/|title=Clements Endorses Perry|work=The Texas Tribune|date=February 16, 2010 |access-date=April 16, 2015}}</ref> Clements, incidentally, won the Republican nomination that ultimately led to his first term as governor by defeating Hutchison's husband, Ray, in the 1978 GOP primary.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4435/m1/1/|title=The Twilight of the Texas Democrats: The 1978 Governor's Race|work=UNT Digital Library|date=December 2003 |access-date=April 16, 2015}}</ref>

In October 2010, Clements's son, B. Gill Clements, was murdered at the age of 69 near his ranch in [[Athens, Texas|Athens]] in [[Henderson County, Texas|Henderson County]], east Texas. An investor, Clements was also a graduate of Southern Methodist University, married, and the father of three children. He was predeceased by his mother, Pauline Allen Gill Clements, Bill Clements's first wife.<ref>[https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas/2010/10/24/20101023-Body-found-in-shallow-grave-after-832 Body found in shallow grave after East Texas shootout may be that of ex-Gov. Bill Clements' son.] ''The Dallas Morning News''. October 24, 2010.</ref>

== Death ==
On May 29, 2011, Clements died at age 94 in a Dallas-area hospital from natural causes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/us/politics/31clements.html|title=Bill Clements Dies at 94; Set Texas on G.O.P. Path|author=James C. McKinley Jr.|author-link=James C. McKinley Jr.|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 30, 2011}}</ref> He is buried at Grove Hill Memorial Park in Dallas.

== Electoral history ==

=== 1978 ===
{{Election box begin no change|title=1978 Texas Gubernatorial Election, Republican Primary<ref>[http://www.texasalmanac.com/sites/default/files/images/uploads/gov1845-2010table.pdf Texas Almanac]</ref>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|candidate=Bill Clements|party=Republican Party (United States)|votes=115,345|percentage=72.82}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|candidate=Ray Hutchison|party=Republican Party (United States)|votes=38,268|percentage=24.16}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|candidate=Clarence Thompson|party=Republican Party (United States)|votes=4,790|percentage=3.02}}
{{Election box total no change|votes=158,403|percentage=100.00}}
|}{{Election box begin no change|title=1978 Texas Gubernatorial Election}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=Bill Clements|votes=1,183,828|percentage=49.96}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Democratic Party (United States)|candidate=[[John Luke Hill]]|votes=1,166,919|percentage=49.24}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Raza Unida Party|candidate=Mario C. Compeán|votes=14,213|percentage=0.59}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|party=Socialist Workers Party (US)|candidate=Sara Johnston|votes=4,624|percentage=0.19}}
{{Election box total no change|votes=2,369,999|percentage=100.00}}
{{Election box gain with party link no swing||winner=Republican Party (United States)|loser=Democratic Party (United States)}}
{{Election box end}}

=== 1982 ===
{{Election box begin no change|title=1982 Texas Gubernatorial Election}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|candidate=[[Mark White (Texas politician)|Mark White]]|party=Democratic Party (United States)|votes=1,697,870|percentage=53.20}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|candidate=Bill Clements (incumbent)|party=Republican Party (United States)|votes=1,465,937|percentage=45.94}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|candidate=David Hutzelman|party=Libertarian Party (United States)|votes=19,143|percentage=0.60}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|candidate=Bob Poteet|party=Independent politician|votes=8,065|percentage=0.19}}
{{Election box total no change|votes=3,191,091|percentage=100.00}}
{{Election box gain with party link no swing||winner=Democratic Party (United States)|loser=Republican Party (United States)}}
|}

=== 1986 ===
{{Election box begin no change|title=1986 Texas Gubernatorial Election, Republican Primary<ref name="resultsref">{{cite web |url=http://www.politico.com/2010/maps/ |title=Politico – Election Results |publisher=[[Politico]] |access-date=March 2, 2010}}</ref>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|candidate=Bill Clements|party=Republican Party (United States)|votes=318,808|percentage=58.53}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|candidate=[[Tom Loeffler]]|party=Republican Party (United States)|votes=117,673|percentage=21.60}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|candidate=[[Kent Hance]]|party=Republican Party (United States)|votes=108,238|percentage=19.87}}
{{Election box total no change|votes=554,719|percentage=100.00%}}
{{Election box end}}{{Election box begin no change|title=1986 Texas Gubernatorial Election<ref name="TX Governor Race - Nov 04, 1986">{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=27720 |title=TX Governor Race - Nov 04, 1986 |publisher=Our Campaigns |access-date=September 4, 2011}}</ref>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|candidate=[[William Perry Clements|Bill Clements]]|party=Republican Party (United States)|votes=1,813,779|percentage=52.70}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|candidate=[[Mark White (Texas politician)|Mark White]] (incumbent)|party=Democratic Party (United States)|votes=1,584,515|percentage=46.04}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|candidate=Theresa S. Doyle|party=Libertarian Party (United States)|votes=42,496|percentage=1.24}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|candidate=Charles Lee (write-in)|party=Independent (United States)|votes=531|percentage=0.02}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|candidate=J. Muriel (write-in)|party=Green Party (United States)|votes=139|percentage=0.00}}
{{Election box total no change|votes=3,441,460|percentage=100.00}}
{{Election box gain with party link no swing||winner=Republican Party (United States)|loser=Democratic Party (United States)}}
|}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Biography|Texas|}}
*[[Southern Methodist University football scandal]]
*[[The William P. Clements Jr. Center for National Security|Clements Center for National Security]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Bridges, Kenneth William. "The Twilight of the Texas Democrats: The 1978 Governor's Race," Ph.D. dissertation, [[University of North Texas]], 2003, 281 pages; AAT 3117260 in [[ProQuest]]
* Cunningham, Sean P. ''Cowboy Conservatism: Texas and the Rise of the Modern Right'' (2010)

==External links==
* [https://archive.today/20090802193811/http://cushing.library.tamu.edu/about/collections/modern-politics/william-p.-clements-jr.-papers Papers of Governor William P. Clements at Texas A&M University]
*{{C-SPAN|3897}}
*{{Find a Grave|6787538}}
*[https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/us/politics/31clements.html?hpw 'Bill Clements Dies at 94; Set Texas on G.O.P. Path'], [[James C. McKinley Jr.]], ''[[The New York Times]]'', May 30, 2011

{{S-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Jim Granberry]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[Governor of Texas]]|years=[[1978 Texas gubernatorial election|1978]], [[1982 Texas gubernatorial election|1982]], [[1986 Texas gubernatorial election|1986]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Clayton Williams]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{Succession box
| before=[[Kenneth Rush]]
| title=[[United States Deputy Secretary of Defense]]
| after=[[Charles W. Duncan Jr.]]
| years=January 30, 1973–January 20, 1977
}}
{{Succession box
| before=[[Dolph Briscoe]]
| title=[[List of Governors of Texas|Governor of Texas]]
| after=[[Mark White (Texas politician)|Mark White]]
| years=January 16, 1979–January 18, 1983
}}
{{Succession box
| before=Mark White
| title=[[List of Governors of Texas|Governor of Texas]]
| after=[[Ann W. Richards]]
| years=January 20, 1987–January 15, 1991
}}
{{S-end}}

{{Governors of Texas}}
{{USDepSecDef}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clements, Bill}}
[[Category:1917 births]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:Highland Park High School (University Park, Texas) alumni]]
[[Category:Southern Methodist University alumni]]
[[Category:American energy industry businesspeople]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Texas]]
[[Category:Republican Party governors of Texas]]
[[Category:Politicians from Dallas]]
[[Category:United States deputy secretaries of defense]]
[[Category:United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel]]
[[Category:United States secretaries of defense]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century American Episcopalians]]
[[Category:20th-century American philanthropists]]