World Agriculture Directory: the home of the world's largest agriculture database. Fastest way to find events, farms and agribusiness that suit your needs. Agriculture Event Directory

Cattlemen Hall of FameBeef cattle barons, cowboys, breeders and builders from around the world

Cattle Barons and Land Owners

Clifford P. Hansen: The Jackson Hole Cattleman Who Became Governor and Senator

A Jackson Hole cattle rancher with an animal science degree climbed from county commission to the governor's office and the U.S. Senate.

Who Was Clifford P. Hansen?

Clifford Peter Hansen is one of the few Wyoming cattlemen who held both the governor's office and a seat in the U.S. Senate. The Wyoming State Archives entry on WyoHistory.org says politics and cattle ranching were both central to his life, and he ranched in Jackson Hole through his years in office.

Wikipedia gives his birth as October 16, 1912, in Zenith, then in Lincoln County and now in Teton County, with his death in Jackson on October 20, 2009, at age 97. WyoHistory.org says only that he was born in Jackson Hole, so sources differ on the exact spot.

A Jackson Hole Upbringing

His parents, Peter Christofferson Hansen and Sylvia Irene Wood, were ranchers who came from Idaho, according to Wikipedia. He grew up in Jackson Hole, and Wikipedia reports that he overcame a severe stutter at a special school and later stressed the value of education.

The sources I opened do not name his ranch or give herd numbers. What they establish is a ranching family in one of Wyoming's most remote valleys, and a son who chose to study the science of livestock.

Animal Science and the Stock Growers

Hansen earned a B.S. in animal science from the University of Wyoming in 1934, per Wikipedia. He later served as a University of Wyoming trustee from 1946 to 1966 and as board president from 1955 to 1962, returning to the school that trained him.

He was also president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association from 1953 to 1955. Before that, he served as a Teton County commissioner from 1943 to 1951. WyoHistory.org separately lists a 1937 election to the Wyoming State Senate, a detail the other pages I read do not include.

Governor of Wyoming, 1963 to 1967

Hansen won the 1962 election by about 10,000 votes against Democrat Jack R. Gage and served as governor from January 7, 1963, to January 2, 1967. According to Wikipedia, his administration increased state funding for alcoholism and mental illness programs by more than 50 percent.

His oral history interview on WyoHistory.org adds two items from the governor years: a 1964 special session on legislative reapportionment, which the courts ultimately resolved, and a 1965 message recommending a minimum wage increase that he later said he had reconsidered.

In the U.S. Senate, 1967 to 1978

Hansen won the Senate seat vacated by Milward Simpson in 1966, defeating Teno Roncalio, and was reelected in 1972 with 71.3 percent. He served on the Finance Committee under Chairman Russell B. Long and, as the interview shows, on Veterans Affairs and the Natural Resources committee.

Wikipedia calls him socially and fiscally conservative. He opposed sending the Equal Rights Amendment to the states, but he voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and for Thurgood Marshall's Supreme Court confirmation. He declined a third term and resigned on December 31, 1978, and Alan Simpson succeeded him.

The Key to Hansen's Success

The through line in Hansen's record is that he used each level of public service to protect resource-based industries in his state. He began close to home, with county government and the stock growers, and moved upward.

The documented limits are that his own ranching operation is barely covered, and his positions on grazing and water are mostly visible through his interview and his votes.

  • He trained for the business, with a 1934 animal science degree from the University of Wyoming.
  • He started local: Teton County commissioner from 1943 to 1951, before statewide office.
  • He led the industry association, serving as Wyoming Stock Growers president from 1953 to 1955.
  • He invested in the state university as trustee from 1946 to 1966 and board president from 1955 to 1962.
  • He pushed for money that stayed in the producing states, sponsoring the bill that raised the western states' mineral royalty share from 37.5 to 50 percent, which a state calculation credited with about $2.8 billion for Wyoming.
  • He knew when to step aside, declining a third Senate term.

Mineral Royalties and Western Resource Policy

The royalty bill was his best-known Senate achievement. Raising the western states' share of federal mineral royalties from 37.5 to 50 percent meant more money for states where federal land held oil, gas and coal. Wikipedia reports that a state calculation credited it with about $2.8 billion for Wyoming.

In the interview, Hansen also said he supported oil import quotas and permanent mineral trust funds and voiced concern that industrial water rights could leave ranches as summer pasture. A rancher defending the value of water and land was a theme that connected his ranching and his policy views.

Later Life, Honors and Where to Read More

After leaving the Senate Hansen returned to Jackson. He died of complications from a broken pelvis, and funeral services were held October 24, 2009, with his body lying in state in Cheyenne. At death he was the oldest living former U.S. senator, per Wikipedia. The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum inducted him into the Hall of Great Westerners in 1995, according to the Wikipedia biography.

For more on ranchers who shaped public life, try the ranching section of farm.FM or a farm.FM story about a ranching governor.

Timeline

  1. 1912Born on October 16 in Zenith, Wyoming
  2. 1934Graduates from the University of Wyoming with a B.S. in animal science
  3. 1943Begins service as Teton County commissioner, through 1951
  4. 1953Becomes president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, through 1955
  5. 1963Takes office as governor of Wyoming on January 7
  6. 1967Begins service in the U.S. Senate
  7. 1978Resigns from the Senate on December 31
  8. 1995Inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners
  9. 2009Dies in Jackson on October 20

Frequently asked questions

Who was Clifford P. Hansen?

Clifford P. Hansen (1912 to 2009) was a Jackson Hole cattle rancher who served as president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, governor of Wyoming from 1963 to 1967 and U.S. senator from 1967 to 1978.

What is Clifford Hansen known for?

He is known for combining ranching with public service, and for sponsoring Senate legislation that raised the western states' share of federal mineral royalties from 37.5 to 50 percent.

When did Cliff Hansen serve as governor?

Hansen served as governor of Wyoming from January 7, 1963, to January 2, 1967, after winning the 1962 election by about 10,000 votes.

Was Clifford Hansen in the Hall of Great Westerners?

Yes. Wikipedia reports that the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum inducted him into the Hall of Great Westerners in 1995.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

More from the hall