Bill Clements

William Perry Clements Jr. (April 13, 1917 – May 29, 2011) was twice governor of Texas as a Republican. After making his fortune in crude oil, Clements also served as Deputy Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Board of Governors at Southern Methodist University. As the 42nd & 44th Governor of Texas he served two non-consecutive terms between 1979 and 1991, with his terms separated by the tenure of Democrat Mark White. When first sworn in in 1979, he became the first Republican to have served as governor of Texas since Reconstruction. When Clements left office for good at the end of his second term in 1991, his eight total years in office were the most served by any Texas governor until Rick Perry surpassed his total in 2009. Clements was the first governor to be elected to multiple terms since Texas changed its constitution in 1972 to extend their governor's term of office to four years; since then, Perry and his predecessor, George W. Bush and successor, Greg Abbott, also Republicans, have also won multiple terms.