(22) Governor George P. Nigh, 1979 to 1987

              Office of the GovernorMS 50 (portrait only)George Patterson Nigh, Democrat. Served from 1979 to 1987. Nigh was born in McAlester, Oklahoma June 9, 1927. He attended public schools in McAlester and Eastern Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College at Wilburton, Oklahoma. From June 1945 through September 1946, he served in the U.S. Navy. He was granted a Bachelor of Arts degree from East Central State College, Ada, Oklahoma in 1950. From 1952 to 1958, he taught at McAlester High School. Nigh served in the House of Representatives from the Twenty-third through the Twenty-sixth Oklahoma Legislatures. He was elected Lieutenant Governor, the youngest in the State's history, in 1958. In 1963, Nigh became the 17th Governor of Oklahoma, filling an unexpired 9-day term following the resignation of Gov. J. Howard Edmondson. He was elected Lieutenant Governor again in 1966, 1970 and 1974. He was elected governor November 7, 1978, and was sworn in January 3, 1979. Nigh became the 22nd Governor of Oklahoma, serving five days to fill an unexpired term following the resignation of Governor David Boren. He began his regular term as 22nd Governor of Oklahoma January 8, 1979, having been elected in fall of 1978, and was re-elected in 1982. Nigh was most recently president of the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, a position from which he retired in 1997. Please note: George Nigh also served from January 6 until January 14, 1963 (Record Group 8-P1-1), when Henry Bellmon resumed office.The Governor of Oklahoma is the chief executive officer of the state and is elected for a four year term. Principal powers and responsibilities are outlined by the state constitution and by statute and include certain appointive powers, the veto or approval of bills passed by the Legislature, the granting of pardons and paroles, the summoning of special sessions of the legislature, and the calling out of the militia. Moreover, the Governor is directly responsible for the preparation of the state budget, serves as an ex officio member of several boards and commissions, receives reports from various state officers and agencies, and is charged with the duty of seeing that all laws are faithfully executed in the state.