Biography

01/17/1918 - 05/09/2013

George Michael Leader (D28) York County 1951-1954

Early Life:

George Michael Leader, born January 17, 1918, York, York County, Pennsylvania, son of Guy Alvin and Beulah Leader; one-room schoolhouse education; York High School; Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; University of Pennsylvania, philosophy, politics, economics; Fels Institute of Government, University of Pennsylvania, Master of Public Administration, (MPA), 1939; married, Mary Jane Strickler, 1939, children, Fred, George Michael Leader, III, Jane Leader Janeczek, David Charles Leader; ensign, USS Randolph, Pacific Theater, World War II; engaged, Chicken hatchery operator; secretary, then chairman, York County Democratic Committee; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1951-1954; unsuccessful campaign, Pennsylvania State Treasurer, 1952; delegate, Democratic National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1972; elected, Democrat, 36th governor of Pennsylvania 1955-1959; unsuccessful campaign, United States Senate, 1958; established, Country Meadows, Providence Place Retirement Communities; died, May 9, 2013 (aged 95 years, 112 days), Country Meadows, Hershey, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania; interment, Salem Union Cemetery, Jacobus, York County, Pennsylvania.

Professional titles; business ownership; board memberships; local government; club memberships:

Lutheran. Member, American Academy of Political and Social Science; American Legion; American Political Science Association; American Veterans (AMVETS); Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE); Eagles; Freemasons; Moose; Odd Fellows; Tau Kappa Epsilon; Veterans of Foreign Wars. 

Early Career:

Ensign, Supply Corps Officer, aircraft carrier, USS (United States Ship) Randolph, Pacific Theater, World War II, after the war ended, returned to York County, used a Government Issue loan to buy a 110-acre Willow Brook Farm.

Authored: 

Healing Poems - George Michael Leader (Author) Leader Publishing; 1st edition (January 1, 2001)

Healing Poems, II - George Michael Leader (Author) Self Published (January 1, 1975) 

Pennsylvania Politics:  

Secretary, then chairman, York County Democratic Committee, 1946-1950.

candidate for Pennsylvania state treasurer, 1952

Delegate, Democratic National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1972.

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 28th district, York County, 1951-1954; succeeding his father, Guy Alvin Leader, 1943-1950.

Unsuccessful campaign, Pennsylvania State Treasurer, 1952.

Elected, Democrat, 36th governor of Pennsylvania, 1955-1959; defeated, Lieutenant Governor Lloyd Wood; sworn in January 18, 1955, one day after turning 37; second-youngest governor, (Robert E. Pattison, 1883-1887 and 1891-1895, was thirty-three when he assumed his first term); appointed Andrew M. Bradley, first African American to serve in a Cabinet-level position in Pennsylvania. Only person from York County ever to be elected governor of the state until Tom Wolf, 2015-2023; allowed one four-year term, the maximum allowed by law at the time. 

Continued Government Service/National Politics:

Unsuccessful campaign, United States Senate, Republican Congressman Hugh Scott, 1958. 

Legacy: 

Father, Guy Alvin Leader, Sr., Pennsylvania State Senate, 28th district, York County, 1943-1950.

Guy Alvin Leader Sr. - Pennsylvania Senate Library (pasen.gov)

Cited:

Cox, Harold. "Senate Members "L"". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Leader to Leak

Home - Country Meadows Retirement Communities

George M. Leader, 1918-2013 (gettysburg.edu)

Governor George Michael Leader | PHMC > Pennsylvania Governors (state.pa.us)

George Michael Leader (1918-2013) - Find a Grave Memorial