Political History
Soon after his passing of the Missouri Bar and return to Lebanon Donnelly expressed an interest in politics. His first office was that of Lebanon city attorney, followed by election to one term as Laclede county prosecutor. Phil Donnelly entered state politics in 1922 by being elected State Representative for the Laclede County area. After one term in the House he was elected to Missouri State Senate in 1924 and would remain there for the next twenty years. Senator Donnelly became Governor Donnelly for the first time after winning the 1944 gubenatorial race.
Highlights of his first term as governor included overseeing the implementation of a new Missouri state constitution in 1946, creation of the Missouri Department of Revenue, and welcoming international statesman Winston Churchill to Fulton, Missouri for the famous Iron Curtain speech at Westminster College. Missouri law prohibited someone from serving two consecutive terms as governor, so Donnelly was ineligible to run again in 1948. However he ran for governor again in 1952 and won easily. Following his second term, a first in Missouri history, he semi-retired to a law practice in Lebanon with his son. Phil M. Donnelly died September 12, 1961 and is buried in the Lebanon, Missouri city cemetery.
Read more about this topic: Phil M. Donnelly
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