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Peter Norbeck
	Peter Norbeck
	;
9th Governor of South Dakota
	In office; 1917 – 1921
Lieutenant	William H. McMaster
Preceded by	Frank M. Byrne
Succeeded by	William H. McMaster
Born	August 27, 1870; Clay County, South Dakota
Died	December 20, 1936; Redfield, South Dakota
Political party	Republican
Religion	Lutheranism

Peter Norbeck (August 27, 1870 -- December 20, 1936) served as a South Dakota State Senator from Spink County, as Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota, as the ninth Governor of South Dakota, and as a United States Senator. Norbeck was the first Governor of South Dakota to have been born within the borders of the state.

[edit] Biography

Peter Norbeck was the oldest of six children born to immigrants George (born in Jämtland, Sweden) and Karen (Larsen) Norbeck, who was Norwegian. At the time of Peter's birth, his family was living in a dugout on the family's 160 acres (0.65 km²), located eight miles (13 km) northeast of Vermillion, Dakota Territory.

On May 9, 1908, Peter Norbeck ran for the South Dakota State Senate from Spink County. After being elected to the first of three terms, he joined Coe Crawford's inner circle of Progressives. In 1914, Norbeck reluctantly accepted Governor Frank Byrne's invitation to run for Lieutenant Governor on the Republican ticket; they ended up winning. In 1916, Norbeck beat Democratic candidate W.T. Rinehart and became the ninth Governor of South Dakota, serving in that office from 1917 to 1921. In 1920, Norbeck was easily elected United States Senator. He won the election with 50% of the vote, running against a Democrat and two fairly strong independent candidates; the Democrat finished third. Norbeck was re-elected to the Senate in 1926 and 1932; he died of cancer during his third term.

Norbeck made a number of contributions to South Dakota's tourism industry. He encouraged the development of the Iron Mountain Road in the Black Hills. He brought sculptor Gutzon Borglum to South Dakota and convinced presidents Calvin Coolidge and Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide federal money for the carving of Mount Rushmore. Norbeck also pushed for the development of Sylvan Lake, Needles Highway, Badlands National Park, Custer State Park, and Wind Cave National Park.

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Political offices
Preceded by E. L. Abel	Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota 1915–1917	Succeeded by William H. McMaster
Preceded by Frank M. Byrne	Governor of South Dakota 1917–1921	Succeeded by William H. McMaster
United States Senate
Preceded by Edwin S. Johnson	United States Senator (Class 3) from South Dakota 1921–1936 Served alongside: Thomas Sterling, William H. McMaster, William J. Bulow	Succeeded by Herbert E. Hitchcock