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Sigurd Anderson
19th Governor of South Dakota
In office January 2, 1951 – January 4, 1955
Lieutenant	Rex A. Terry
Preceded by	George T. Mickelson
Succeeded by	Joe Foss
17th Attorney General of South Dakota
In office 1947–1951
Governor	George T. Mickelson
Preceded by	George T. Mickelson
Succeeded by	Ralph A. Dunham
Personal details
Born	(1904-01-22)January 22, 1904 Arendal, Aust-Agder, Norway
Died	December 21, 1990(1990-12-21) (aged 86) Webster, South Dakota, U.S.
Party	Republican
Spouse	Vivian Walz
Alma mater	South Dakota State University University of South Dakota (BA, JD)
Profession	Attorney

Sigurd Anderson (January 22, 1904 – December 21, 1990) was the 19th governor of South Dakota. Anderson, a Republican from Webster, South Dakota, served in that office from 1951 to 1955.^[1]

Anderson was born at Frolands Verk, a rural community near Arendal, in the county of Aust-Agder, Norway and came to the United States at age three with his family to settle in Lincoln County, South Dakota. Sigurd became a United States citizen at age eight, when his father became a naturalized citizen.^[2] Anderson graduated from the Canton Lutheran Normal, in Canton, South Dakota, and enrolled at South Dakota State College.^[3] During his first school year, Anderson suffered from scarlet fever, which prevented his return to college the following fall. In order to secure funds to continue his education, Anderson worked as a farm hand and taught rural school at Kruger #1 school house in Kingsbury County. In 1928, Anderson enrolled at the University of South Dakota, and graduated in 1931 with cum laude honors^[4] and a B.A. degree and went on to earn his LL.B degree from University of South Dakota School of Law. In 1937, he married Vivian Walz of Vermillion and began practicing law in Webster. Their daughter, Kristin Karen, was born during Anderson's administration.

Anderson twice served as Day County state's attorney and as an assistant attorney general in the state capital, Pierre. Before he was elected governor he served two terms as South Dakota Attorney General, 1947–1951.^[3]

On July 9, 1946, at the Republican convention, Anderson defeated I.R. Erickson of Vermillion; Anderson received 72,220 votes to 68,695 votes for Erickson.^[5]

In the general election, Anderson defeated Democrat Albert F. Ulmer by a count of 106,502 votes to 50,480 votes.^[6]

In 1948, Anderson was re-nominated without opposition at the Republican convention in Pierre.^[7]

In the general election, Anderson was re-elected as Attorney General by defeating D.C. Walsh by a 137,370 to 99,724 vote margin.

Anderson's re-election in 1952 marked the first time a candidate for South Dakota governor received more than 200,000 votes in a general election. This was not accomplished again until Mike Rounds' reelection in 2006, over fifty years later. It was during Anderson's administration that the Legislative Research Council was established. It was also during this time that the state had a debt-free status—the first time in 40 years.^[4]

After his service as governor, he served as a commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission.^[8]

In 1964, Anderson once again announced his candidacy for governor, but lost the GOP gubernatorial primary to Nils Boe, who won the general election. Boe appointed Anderson to fill a vacancy as a circuit judge, from which position Anderson retired in 1975.^[2]

Anderson died on December 21, 1990, and was interred in Webster Cemetery, Webster, South Dakota.

He received dozens of professional and political honors and was a member of numerous organizations.^[4] He was a member of the Lutheran Church, Masonic Lodge and affiliated bodies, Phi Beta Kappa fraternity, Delta Theta Phi fraternity, Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, Veterans of Foreign Wars and many others. The Sigurd Anderson airport in Webster, South Dakota is named in his honor.^[9]

• List of United States governors born outside the United States

• Sigurd Anderson at Find a Grave
• National Governors Association