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South Dakota is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes,who comprise a large portion of the population with nine reservations currently in the state and have historically dominated the territory. South Dakota is the seventeenth largest by area,but the 5th least populous,and the 5th least densely populated of the 50 United States. As the southern part of the former Dakota Territory,South Dakota became a state on November 2,1889,simultaneously with North Dakota. They are the 39th and 40th states admitted to the union;President Benjamin Harrison shuffled the statehood papers before signing them so that no one could tell which became a state first. Pierre is the state capital,and Sioux Falls,with a population of about 192,200,is South Dakota's largest city.
The governor of South Dakota is the head of government of South Dakota. The governor is elected to a four-year term in even years when there is no presidential election. The current governor is Kristi Noem,a member of the Republican Party who took office on January 5,2019.
Timothy Peter Johnson is a retired American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from South Dakota from 1997 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party,he previously served as the United States representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district from 1987 to 1997 and in the state legislature from 1979 to 1987. Johnson chose not to seek reelection in 2014. As of 2022,he is the last Democrat to have represented South Dakota in Congress,and the last to hold any statewide office in the state.
Richard Francis Kneip was an American diplomat and politician who served as the 25th governor of South Dakota from 1971 until 1978 and the 6th United States Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore. He was a member of the Democratic Party and the first Catholic Governor of South Dakota.
Ellis James Abdnor was an American politician who served as a member of the United States Senate from South Dakota. He was also the 15th Administrator of the Small Business Administration under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.
James George Abourezk is an American attorney and Democratic politician who served as a United States senator and United States representative from South Dakota. He did not seek re-election to the US Senate in 1978. He was the first Greek Orthodox Christian of Lebanese-Antiochite descent to serve in the US Senate. He was generally viewed as critical of US foreign policy in the Middle-East and North Africa (MENA) area,particularly regarding Palestine and Israel.
The South Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court in the state of South Dakota. It is composed of a chief justice and four associate justices appointed by the governor. One justice is selected from each of five geographic appointment districts. Justices face a nonpolitical retention election three years after appointment and every eight years after that. The justices also select their own chief justice.
Dennis Martin Daugaard is an American attorney and politician who served as the 32nd governor of South Dakota from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party,he was the first chief executive of a U.S. state to be the child of deaf parents. Before being elected governor,he was a lawyer,banker,development director for a nonprofit organization;he also served as a state senator from 1997 to 2003 and the 37th lieutenant governor of South Dakota from 2003 to 2011.
Coe Isaac Crawford was an American attorney and politician from South Dakota. He served as the sixth Governor and as a U.S. Senator.
Warren Everett Green was an American politician who served as the 13th governor of South Dakota. Green,a Republican from Hazel,South Dakota,served from 1931 to 1933. He was also a state senator from 1913 through 1915,and again from 1923 to 1927.
Merrell Quentin Sharpe was an American politician from Kennebec,South Dakota. Affiliated with the Republican Party,Sharpe was the attorney general of South Dakota from 1929 through 1933,and governor of South Dakota from 1943 through 1947.
Francis Higbee Case was an American journalist and politician who served for 25 years as a member of the United States Congress from South Dakota. He was a Republican.
Benjamin Reifel,also known as Lone Feather was a Lakota Sioux public administrator and politician. He had a career with the Bureau of Indian Affairs,retiring as area administrator. He ran for the US Congress from the East River region of South Dakota,and was elected as the first Lakota to serve in the House of Representatives. He served five terms as a Republican United States Congressman from the First District.
The structure of the Government of South Dakota is based on that of the federal government,with three branches of government:executive,legislative,and judicial. The structure of the state government is laid out in the Constitution of South Dakota,the highest law in the state. The constitution may be amended either by a majority vote of both houses of the legislature,or by voter initiative.
Roger Leland Wollman is a Senior United States Circuit Judge and former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He is the older brother of Harvey L. Wollman,former Governor of South Dakota.
George Theodore Mickelson was an American lawyer,16th Attorney General of South Dakota and 18th Governor of South Dakota,and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota. He is the patriarch of the prominent Mickelson family of South Dakota.
Larry Rhoden is an American politician and businessman serving as the 39th lieutenant governor of South Dakota since 2019. A Republican,he previously served in both houses of the South Dakota Legislature.
Steven Joseph Barnett is an American Republican politician who serves as the Secretary of State of South Dakota. He previously served as state auditor of South Dakota (2011–2019).
Richard L. Sattgast is an American politician who serves as the state auditor of South Dakota for the second time having served two terms previously (2003–2011). He formerly served as state treasurer (2011–2019).
Dustin M. Johnson is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district since 2019. A member of the Republican Party,he served as South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioner from 2005 to 2011,when he was appointed chief of staff to Governor Dennis Daugaard,a position he held until 2014. Between his state political career and congressional service,Johnson was the vice president of Vantage Point Solutions in Mitchell,South Dakota.