Victor Emanuel Anderson was an American politician from the state of Nebraska.
Background
Anderson, the son of Swedish immigrants, Ernest F. and Marie Larson Anderson, was born in Havelock, Nebraska (which was subsequently incorporated into Lincoln). However, he left the university two and one-half years later to become a partner in his father"s plumbing and hardware business.
Education
He attended the University of Nebraska after his graduation from Havelock High School in 1920.
Career
Anderson assumed his first political position in 1936, when he was appointed a trustee of Lancaster County Sanitary District. Number. 1. He was then elected to that position three times. In 1948, he was elected to a seat in the Nebraska legislature, and took office in 1949.
He resigned in 1950 when the Lincoln City Council unanimously chose him to fill the vacated post of mayor.
While he was in office, Lincoln Air Force Base was re-activated, the city charter was amended, the "O" street viaduct was replaced, and, for the first time in fifteen years, street resurfacing was done. Anderson sought the Republican nomination to run for governor in 1952, but lost in the primary.
In 1954, he again ran for the governorship, this time winning. He was reelected by a large majority in 1956.
During his tenure, taxes and expenditures were reduced, mental health programs were improved, and a prison riot was successfully calmed.
He sought a third term in 1958, but lost to Democratic candidate Ralph G. Brooks, in what was then the closest election in Nebraska history. He was a delegate to the 1960 Republican National Convention. In 1949, Anderson bought the controlling interest in the Havelock National Bank and was named president
He held that position until his death.
In 1949, he also began the Victor East. Anderson Bottled Gas and Propane Company. Anderson died of a heart attack in Lincoln, Nebraska on August 15, 1962.
He is interred at Wyuka Cemetery, Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska United States of America. A library in the Lincoln City Libraries public library system is named after Anderson.
Membership
A member of the Republican Party, he served in the Nebraska Legislature, as mayor of the capital city of Lincoln, and as the 28th governor of the state. He belonged to the Freemasons, the Elks, the Moose, the Odd fellows, Sigma Phi Epsilon, and was a member of the Methodist church.