McGee, Gale W. (Gale William), d. 1915-

Gale McGee (1915-1992) was a Wyoming U.S. senator who served from 1959 to 1977. Originally from Nebraska, he received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago in 1946 and began teaching American history at the University of Wyoming. The following year he became chair of the University's Institute of International Affairs. Active in Democratic politics, McGee left the University in 1958 to run for U.S. senator.

During his senatorial tenure, McGee served on the Interstate & Foreign Commerce, Appropriations, Foreign Relations, and Post Office & Civil Service Committees. Following his Senate service, he was appointed ambassador to the Organization of American States from 1977 to 1981, when he established a legislative consulting firm in Washington, D.C. McGee married Loraine Baker in 1939 and they had four children, David, Robert, Mary and Lori.

Gale W. McGee, U.S. Senator from Wyoming, 1959-1977, and ambassador to the Organization of American States, 1977-1981, was a three-term Democrat in the U.S. Senate, a political rarity in Wyoming. Born on Saint Patrick's Day, March 17, 1915, in Lincoln, Nebraska, McGee attended public schools where he was prominent in debate. He desired to study law but the depression forced him to attend Nebraska Teaching College, where he graduated in 1936.

McGee taught high school, 1936-1939, while working toward a master's degree in history at the University of Colorado. He continued as a college instructor at Nebraska Wesleyan University, Iowa State College and Notre Dame. In 1946 McGee received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago and accepted a position as a professor of American History at the University of Wyoming. The following year he became chairman of the Institute of International Affairs at the University.

Active in Democratic politics, McGee was asked to run for Congress in 1950 but declined saying he wanted to get more in touch with Wyoming and its people. In 1955-1956 he took a leave of absence from the University to work as the Legislative Assistant to Wyoming Senator Joseph C. O'Mahoney.

In 1958 he left the University to make his bid for the U.S. Senate running on a program of youth and new ideas. He won a very tight race against incumbent Frank Berate by making campaign stops in almost every town in Wyoming. He was a member of the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee and was appointed to the prestigious Appropriations Committee, the first freshman senator to be so honored.

In 1964 McGee was re-elected to the Senate. In his second term he was appointed to the Foreign Relations Committee and became chairman of the Post Office and Civil Service Committee. During this period Gale McGee supported President Johnson's views on the conflict in Vietnam. He believed in the policy of containing communism, and his pro-military views were accented by his firm support for foreign aid.

During McGee's Senate years he served on the Appropriations, Interstate and Foreign Commerce, Post Office and Civil Service, and the Foreign Relations Committees, plus numerous Subcommittees. In 1970 he was elected to a third term in the Senate and continued to be a leading member of the committees on which he served. McGee was a voice of moderation in the affairs of Watergate and the impeachment proceedings of President Nixon. Against the wishes of his constituents McGee fought hard for gas rationing and the 55-mile per hour speed limit in the era of the first Arab oil embargoes.

In 1976 McGee was defeated in his attempt at a fourth term by Malcolm Wallop. He was appointed ambassador to the Organization of American States by President Carter in 1977, reappointed by President Reagan, and continued serving in that position until 1981 when he established a consulting firm in Washington D.C. Gale W. McGee married Loraine Baker in 1939 and together they had four children, David W., Robert M., Mary Gale, and Lori Ann. Senator McGee died on April 9th, 1992, in Washington.

From the guide to the Gale W. McGee papers, 1916-1992, (University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.)