Albert L. Smith Jr.

Albert Lee Smith Jr.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Alabama's 6th district
In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1983
Preceded by	John Hall Buchanan Jr.
Succeeded by	Ben Erdreich
Personal details
Born	August 31, 1931 Birmingham, Alabama
Died	August 12, 1997 (aged 65) Birmingham, Alabama
Resting place	Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	Auburn University
Occupation	Insurance agent
Religion	Christian
Military service
Service/branch	United States Navy

Albert Lee Smith Jr. (August 31, 1931 – August 12, 1997) was an Alabama politician who represented the 6th district in the United States House of Representatives during the 97th Congress (1981–1983).

Early life

Smith was born in 1931 in Birmingham, Alabama. He attended public schools in Jefferson County and graduated from Ramsay High School before he enrolled at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. He graduated from Auburn in 1954 and entered the United States Navy. He worked thereafter as an insurance agent before entering political life.^[1]

Politics

Smith was elected as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1968, 1972, 1974 and 1984. In 1978, Smith challenged 12-term Republican John Hall Buchanan, Jr. in the primary for the Birmingham-based 6th District. Buchanan was one of the more moderate Republicans in the House, and Smith ran well to his right. Smith lost fairly handily, but took another run at Buchanan in 1980. With support from conservative Christian activists, Smith defeated Buchanan by a surprising 10-point margin. He then narrowly defeated Democrat Pete Clifford by three points.

Smith served only one term before being defeated by Democratic Jefferson County commissioner Ben Erdreich. To date, Smith is the last Republican congressman to be unseated by a Democrat in Alabama.

In 1984, Smith unsuccessfully ran for the United States Senate against incumbent Democrat Howell Heflin.

Later life

Smith remained active in a variety of conservative political causes until his death in 1997 at the age of sixty-five. He is interred at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham.

External links

• United States Congress. "Albert L. Smith Jr. (id: S000514)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

References

1. SMITH, Albert Lee Jr. – Biographical Information