Mark White

Mark Wells White Jr. (March 17, 1940 – August 5, 2017) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 43rd governor of Texas from 1983 to 1987. He also held office as Secretary of State of Texas (1973–1977), and as Texas Attorney General (1979–1983). White was elected governor in the 1982 gubernatorial election, defeating the incumbent Bill Clements. A member of the Democratic Party, White sought to improve education, transportation, water resources, law enforcement, and taxes to lure new industry to Texas. He appointed the first Hispanic woman to serve as a judge of a district court in Texas, Elma Salinas Ender. In the 1986 gubernatorial election, White lost to former Republican Governor Clements, 52.7% to 46.0%. Early life White was born in Henderson, Texas, to Mark Wells White Sr. and Sarah Elizabeth White. In Houston, he attended Woodrow Wilson Elementary School (now Baker Montessori School), Lanier Junior High School and Lamar High School. White attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he was a member of the Tryon Coterie Club (now the Texas Lambda chapter of Phi Delta Theta). He subsequently graduated from Baylor Law School in 1965. He was a member of University Masonic Lodge 1190 in Austin, Texas.