Clifford Peter Hansen (October 16, 1912October 20, 2009) was an American politician from the state of Wyoming. A Republican, he served as the 26th Governor of Wyoming (January 7, 1963 – January 2, 1967) and subsequently as a United States senator (January 3, 1967 – December 31, 1978). He served as a member of the board of trustees from 1946-1966 to his alma mater, the University of Wyoming located in Laramie. He was also a county commissioner in Jackson, the seat of Teton County in northwestern Wyoming. Before his death on October 20, 2009, he was the oldest living former U.S. Senator as well as the third oldest living former U.S. Governor. Early years and education Hansen was born in Zenith (now Teton County but then Lincoln County), a settlement so small that it is no longer listed on Wyoming road maps. He was the son of Sylvia Irene (née Wood) and Peter Christofferson Hansen. The senior Hansens were ranchers originally from Idaho: Peter, of Danish extraction, came from Soda Springs, and Sylvia, of English descent, was born in Blackfoot. Peter Hansen, who had some college training, was a "practical" engineer who did surveying and ditch work on ranch lands. Clifford Hansen grew up in Jackson Hole, a town in a high-mountain valley that includes the Grand Teton National Park. There he attended public schools. As a child, he overcame a serious speech impediment which baffled his teachers, some of whom first thought that he was "uneducable". His problem was not inability to learn but a severe stutter which was corrected by his attendance at a special school. Having overcome the speech impediment, Hansen forever stressed the value of an education, once having advised a grandson, "It's the one thing no one can take away from you." Hansen obtained his bachelor's degree in animal science from UW in 1934. While at the university he was in the Epsilon Delta chapter of Sigma Nu fraternity. He was a UW trustee from 1946 to 1966 and was the trustee board president from 1955 until 1962, when he resigned to run for governor. From 1943-1951, he was a Teton county commissioner. From 1953-1955 he served as the president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association. Governor of Wyoming Hansen won the governorship in the 1962 mid-term elections by 10,000 votes. He unseated the Democrat Jack R. Gage, who had served fewer than two years.