Edwin Edwards - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Edwin Edwards
50th Governor of Louisiana
In office January 13, 1992 – January 8, 1996
Lieutenant	Melinda Schwegmann
Preceded by	Buddy Roemer
Succeeded by	Mike Foster
In office March 12, 1984 – March 14, 1988
Lieutenant	Bobby Freeman
Preceded by	Dave Treen
Succeeded by	Buddy Roemer
In office May 9, 1972 – March 10, 1980
Lieutenant	Jimmy Fitzmorris
Preceded by	John McKeithen
Succeeded by	Dave Treen
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 7th district
In office October 2, 1965 – May 9, 1972
Preceded by	Ashton Thompson
Succeeded by	John Breaux
Personal details
Born	Edwin Washington Edwards (1927-08-07)August 7, 1927 Marksville, Louisiana, U.S.
Died	July 12, 2021(2021-07-12) (aged 93) Gonzales, Louisiana, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Elaine Schwartzenburg 1949–1989 Candace Picou (1994–2004) Trina Grimes Scott (2011–2021)
Children	Anna Victoria Stephen David Eli
Alma mater	Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1945–1946
Battles/wars	World War II

Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party. He served as the U.S. Representative from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th Governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1980, 1984–1988 and 1992–1996), twice as many elected terms as any other Louisiana chief executive.

He served a total of sixteen years in office, the sixth-longest serving gubernatorial tenure in post-Constitutional U.S. history at 5,784 days.^[1] He was a colorful, powerful and legendary figure in Louisiana politics. Edwards, who has been dubbed the "very last of the line of New Deal Southern Democrats",^[2] was long dogged by charges of corruption.

In 2001, he was found guilty of racketeering charges and sentenced to ten years in Federal prison. Edwards began serving his sentence in October 2002 in Fort Worth, Texas, and was later transferred to the federal facility in Oakdale, Louisiana. Edwards was released from federal prison in January 2011, after serving eight years.

Without a pardon, Edwards remains ineligible to seek the governorship until 15 years have passed from the end of his sentence.^[3] In 2013, Edwards co-starred, alongside his third wife Trina, in an A&E reality show, The Governor's Wife based on their life together.^[4][5] In 2014, Edwards ran in the 2014 election to represent Louisiana's 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.^[6] He placed first in the jungle primary, but was crushed by nearly 25 points in the runoff election.^[7]

Edwards was born in Marksville, Louisiana. He studied at Louisiana State University. Edwards was married to Elaine Schwartzenburg from 1949 until they divorced in 1989. Then he was married to Candace Picou from 1994 until they divorced in 2004. Then he married his current wife, Trina Grimes Scott in 2011. Edwards has four children with Elaine and one with Trina.

In 2015, Edwards was hospitalized for pneumonia.^[8] On December 13, 2016, Edwards was hospitalized under stable condition again for pneumonia in Baton Rouge.^[9]

Edwards was sent to hospice care for pain in his lungs in Gonzales, Louisiana on July 6, 2021.^[10] He died six days later on July 12 at the age of 93.^[11] The cause of death was respiratory failure caused by pneumonia.^[12]

Media related to Edwin Edwards at Wikimedia Commons Quotations related to Edwin Edwards at Wikiquote

• Edwards' greatest quotes
• New York Magazine profile
• Larry King interview
• Edwin Edwards on Twitter

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