Member Biography

Biography

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.

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 28th district, York County, 1951-1954; succeeded 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. 

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

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)

Enacted from Senate Bill 907, Thursday May 9, 2002, P.L. 303, No. 42, designating the North George Street Bridge in the City of York, York County, as the Governor George M. Leader Bridge.  2002 Act 42 (state.pa.us)

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