ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Former Alaska Gov. Walter Hickel, who served as Interior secretary under President Nixon until he was dismissed for objecting to the treatment of Vietnam War protesters, has died at age 90.
The two-time Alaska governor died Friday of natural causes at an Anchorage assisted living facility, said longtime Hickel assistant Malcolm Roberts.
Gov. Sean Parnell ordered state flags flown at half-staff Saturday in honor of his predecessor.
“He taught us to dream big and to stand up for Alaska,” Parnell said. “Gov. Hickel will be remembered for many things — for his wit, for telling it like it is, and for always reminding us that our resources belong to Alaskans.”
U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, said Alaska “lost one of its true visionaries” with Hickel’s passing. “He was creative and courageous and always put the interests of the state first,” Begich said.
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, also eulogized Hickel as a visionary.
“A fighter for statehood and a champion of the lands claims of Alaska’s Native peoples, Wally left a lasting legacy for generations to follow,” she said. “We’ve truly lost a giant figure whose leadership greatly influenced Alaska’s birth, its present and its future.”
Alaska Democrats, meeting for their convention in Sitka, had a moment of silence in Hickel’s honor.
A wave of “Oh!” and “Oh, my God” rippled through the audience when word of Hickel’s death was mentioned Saturday morning.
Hickel was fired from his Interior post in late 1970 after sending Nixon a letter critical of the president’s handling of student protests following the National Guard shootings at Kent State and the U.S. invasion of Cambodia.
The letter helped to stir national debate about the growing generational rift over the Vietnam War.
“I believe this administration finds itself today embracing a philosophy which appears to lack appropriate concern for the attitude of a great mass of Americans — our young people,” Hickel wrote.
He is survived by his wife, six sons, 21 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated in Anchorage.
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