George V. Hansen

George V. Hansen
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Idaho's 2nd district
In office
January 3, 1975  January 3, 1985
Preceded by Orval Hansen
Succeeded by Richard Stallings
In office
January 3, 1965  January 3, 1969
Preceded by Ralph Harding
Succeeded by Orval Hansen
Personal details
Born George Vernon Hansen
(1930-09-14)September 14, 1930
Tetonia, Idaho
Died August 14, 2014(2014-08-14) (aged 83)
Pocatello, Idaho
Nationality United States
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Connie Hansen (†2013)[1]
Residence Pocatello
Alma mater Ricks College, 1956
Profession Insurance
Religion The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon)
Military service
Allegiance  United States
Service/branch U.S. Air Force
U.S. Naval Reserve
Years of service 19511954, USAF
19641970, USNR

George Vernon Hansen (September 14, 1930 – August 14, 2014) was a Republican politician from the state of Idaho. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 14 years, representing Idaho's 2nd district from 1965 to 1969 and again from 1975 to 1985.

Biography

Born in Tetonia, Idaho, Hansen graduated from Ricks College (now Brigham Young University-Idaho) in 1956 and did graduate work at Idaho State University. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1951 to 1954 and the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1964 to 1970.

Hansen moved to Alameda, Idaho, and was established as a life insurance salesman by 1958. He was elected mayor in 1961 and supported its merger with Pocatello the following year. Following the merger, Hansen served as a Pocatello city commissioner until 1965.

Hansen was an unsuccessful candidate in the primary for the U.S. Senate in 1962, but won a seat in the House two years later in the 2nd district. He again ran for the U.S. Senate in 1968, but lost to two-term incumbent Frank Church, who would serve four terms. Hansen ran a third unsuccessful Senate campaign in 1972, losing the primary to 1st district congressman Jim McClure.

In 1974, Hansen upset three-term incumbent Orval Hansen in the August primary and won the general election to return to the U.S. House. In Washington, Hansen was known as one of the most conservative members of Congress, and a particularly vocal critic of the Internal Revenue Service.

Congressman Hansen went to Tehran in 1979 in the middle of the Iran hostage crisis to try to negotiate with hostage takers through the fence of the U.S. Embassy. In 1980 Hansen published a book titled To Harass Our People: The IRS and Government Abuse of Power.

Hansen was reprimanded by the House in 1984 for failing to include transactions on federal disclosure forms. He was defeated for re-election by less than 200 votes that year by Democrat Richard Stallings.[2] Hansen tried unsuccessfully to challenge the election result. He was convicted of failing to file full disclosure forms and spent 15 months in prison. His imprisonment is alleged to have included torture through medical neglect and subjection to "diesel therapy," a form of punishment in which prisoners are painfully shackled and then transported for days or weeks without respite.[3] The conviction was overturned in 1995 as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court decision Hubbard v. United States,[4] which adopted a narrower interpretation of the law under which Hansen was prosecuted. But it was not an automatic process; first Hansen filed an appeal based on ineffective assistance of counsel, in which most of his arguments were rejected but his sentence was reduced based on a change in the law,[5] then in further litigation, his conviction was overturned based on the Hubbard decision.[6]


In 2014, he died at a hospital in Pocatello, Idaho, aged 83.[7]

Election results

U.S. House elections (Idaho's 2nd district): Results 1964–1966, 1974–1984
Year Democrat Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct
1964 Ralph Harding (inc.) 84,022 47.8% George Hansen 91,838 52.2%
1966 A.W. "Bill" Brunt 33,348 29.7% George Hansen (inc.) 79,024 70.3%
1974 Max Hanson 53,599 44.3% George Hansen 67,274 55.7%
1976 Stan Kress 82,237 49.4% George Hansen (inc.) 84,175 50.6%
1978 Stan Kress 60,040 42.7% George Hansen (inc.) 80,591 57.3%
1980 Diane Bilyeu 81,364 41.2% George Hansen (inc.) 116,196 58.8%
1982 Richard Stallings 76,608 47.7% George Hansen (inc.) 83,873 52.3%
1984 Richard Stallings 101,266 50.03% George Hansen (inc.) 101,133 49.97%
U.S. Senate elections in Idaho (Class III): Results 1968
Year Democrat Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct
1968 Frank Church (inc.) 173,482 60.3% George Hansen 114,394 39.7%

Source:[8]

Books

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.

  1. "Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell news by Idaho Statesman". Idahostatesman.com. Retrieved 2014-08-20.
  2. AP (1984-11-09). "Justice Dept. Rebuts Rep. Hansen of Idaho - NYTimes.com". United States: New York Times. Retrieved 2014-08-20.
  3. "Quixote'S Horse - The Congressman George Hansen Story". Constitution.org. Retrieved 2014-08-20.
  4. "Google Scholar". Scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2014-08-20.
  5. "Google Scholar". Scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2014-08-20.
  6. "Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell news by Idaho Statesman". Idahostatesman.com. Retrieved 2014-08-20.
  7. "Office of the Clerk: Election statistics". U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Ralph R. Harding
United States House of Representatives, Idaho Second Congressional District
January 4, 1965January 3, 1969
Succeeded by
Orval H. Hansen
Preceded by
Orval H. Hansen
United States House of Representatives, Idaho Second Congressional District
January 3, 1975January 4, 1985
Succeeded by
Richard H. Stallings
Party political offices
Preceded by
Jack Hawley
Republican Party nominee, U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Idaho
1968 (lost)
Succeeded by
Robert L. Smith
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