September 17, 1961 - West German Federal Election: CHANCELLORS OF GERMANY:
Konrad Adenauer (CDU) - 1949-1959 Christian DemocraticUnion-Christian Social UnionMajority - 1949-1959 Gustav Heinemann (CDU) - 1959-1961 Christian Democratic Union-Christian Social UnionMajority - 1959-1961 Herbert Weichmann (SPD) - 1961-? Social Democratic Party-Free Democratic PartyCoalition - 1961-?
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It Wasn't For Lack of Trying- 1961 Irish Dáil Election
October 18, 1961 - South African General Election: PRIME MINISTERS OF SOUTH AFRICA:
D.F. Malan (NP) - 1948-1957 National-AfrikanerCoalition - 1948-1951 NationalMajority - 1951-1957 J.G. Strijdom (NP) - 1957-1958 NationalMajority - 1957-1958 D.F. Malan (NP) - 1958-1961 NationalMinority - 1958-1959 (Interim Government) NationalMajority - 1959-1961 (Emergency Military Government) NationalMinority - 1961-1961 (Interim Government) Jacobus Gideon Nel Strauss (UP) - 1961-? United-Liberal-LabourCoalition - 1961-?
Elections for the National Assembly of South Africa were held on October 18, 1961 following the end of a two-year period of martial law. The government of D.F. Malan had lost their majority in 1958, theoretically requiring a snap election. Malan instead implemented a state of emergency, delaying the election indefinitely. Following massive protests, Malan would eventually relent, and the opposition would storm to victory. While the Liberal and Labour parties committed to ending Apartheid, the United Party refused, stating that they would merely seek to restore the franchise requirements in the South African Constitution the National Party had unilaterally stripped.
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It Wasn't For Lack of Trying- 1961 Ecuadorian Emergency Presidential Election
October 26, 1961 - Ecuadorian General Election: Preisdents of Ecuador: Jose Maria Velasco Ibarra (VNF) - 1952-1956 Raul Clemente Huerta (PSE) - 1956-1957 Ricardo Paredes Romero (PSC) - 1957-1960 Ramon Castro Jijon (MIL) - 1960-1961 Galo Plaza (PLRE) - 1961-?
An emergency presidential election was held on October 6, 1961 in Ecuador. This occurred after the end of a three-year civil war. The conflict had begun when modern socialist Raul Clemente Huerta was deposed by the far more radical Ricardo Paredes Romero, who would in turn be led around by even more radical extremists. The 3-year reign of the far-left regime would lead to the deaths of nearly a tenth of the country's population, which easily enabled moderate liberal Galo Plaza's return to office after the end of the conflict.
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It Wasn't For Lack of Trying- 1961 Greek Parliamentary Election
Elections for the Greek Parliament were held on October 29, 1961. The incumbent Democratic Union-led government won re-election. Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou had resigned after his government had fallen in a vote of no confidence in August, forcing President Sofoklis Venizelos to name elder statesman Nikolaos Plastiras as interim Prime Minister. Papandreou was sworn in for a second term with an expanded plurality, allowing him to drop the often-problematic (read: left wing) Liberal Party from the coalition.
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It Wasn't For Lack of Trying- 1961 Portuguese Parliamentary Election
November 12, 1961 - Portuguese General Election: PRIME MINISTERS OF PORTUGAL:
Antonio de Oliveira Salazar (UN) - 1932-1953 NationalUnion Majority - 1932-1953 Humberto Delgado (UF/SD) - 1953-? UnitedFront Majority - 1953-1956 Social DemocraticMajority - 1956-?
Elections to the Portuguese Parliament were held on November 12, 1961. The incumbent government of Humberto Delgado was re-elected in a landslide, securing another four years in government for the Social Democratic Party. This was the first election with universal suffrage for all citizens, something that likely benefited the incumbent government. Portugal had also seen massive economic growth over the previous years, with GDP closing in on ten billion by the end of the year.
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It Wasn't For Lack of Trying- 1961 Philippine Presidential Election
November 20, 1961 - Israeli Knesset Election PRIME MINISTERS OF ISRAEL:
David Ben-Gurion (M) - 1948-1953 MapaiLeading Grand Coalition - 1948-1949 Mapai-Religious Front-Progressives-Sephardim-DemocraticCoalition - 1949-1951 Mapai-Mizrachi-Aguda-Poalei Agudat-Democratic-Progress & Work-Agriculture & DevelopmentCoalition - 1951-1953 Moshe Sharett (M) - 1953-1955 Mapai-General ZionistsCoalition - 1953-1955 David Ben-Gurion (M) - 1955-1959 Mapai-Mapam-ProgressiveCoalition - 1955-1959 Dov Yosef (M) - 1959-1959 Mapai-Mapam-ProgressiveCoalition - 1959-1959 David Ben-Gurion (M) - 1959-1961 Mapai-Mapam-MakiCoalition (Democratic Arab AllianceSupply-and-Confidence) - 1959-1961 Golda Meir (M) - 1961-1961 MapaiLeading Caretaker Coalition - 1961-1961 Pinchas Rosen (L) - 1961-? Liberal-Herut-Democratic Arab AllianceCoalition - 1961-?
Elections for the Israeli Knesset were held on November 20, 1961, less than four months after the previous ones. The August 1961 elections produced a hung parliament, requiring an emergency snap election. Ultimately, the liberal opposition led by Pinchas Rosen would narrowly win, enabling a coalition between Rosen's Liberals, Herut, and the Arab Alliance. They were aided by a large strike that had occurred in September, convincing many Israelis that trade unions had grown too powerful.
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It Wasn't For Lack of Trying- 1961 Australian Parliamentary Election
SCHEDULED ELECTIONS:
January 14, 1962 - Canada (Legislature) January 17, 1962 - Finland (President) February 4, 1962 - Finland (Legislature) February 25, 1962 - India (Legislature) May 7, 1962 - South Korea (Legislature) May 12, 1962 - Austria (Legislature) June 1, 1962 - Taiwan (Legislature) July 1, 1962 - Japan (Legislature) November 1, 1962 - France (Legislature) November 6, 1962 - United States (Congress)
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It Wasn't For Lack of Trying- 1962 Canadian Parliamentary Election
PRIME MINISTERS OF CANADA:
Louis St. Laurent (LIB) - 1948-1953 LiberalMajority - 1948-1953 Tommy Douglas (IND) - 1953-1955 IndependentLeading Liberal-CooperativeCoalition - 1953-1955 Louis St. Laurent (LIB) - 1955-1958 LiberalMajority - 1955-1957 Liberal-CooperativeCoalition - 1957-1958 Lester B. Pearson (LIB/SLP) - 1958-1962 Liberal-CooperativeCoalition - 1958-1959 Social LaborMajority - 1959-1962 Robert Stanfield (PC) - 1962-???? Progressive ConservativeMajority - 1962-?
Elections for the Canadian Parliament were held on January 14, 1962. This was the first election under the two-party system, with the Progressive Conservative Party narrowly defeating the new Social Labor Alliance (formerly the Liberals and the Commonwealth). Following the election, Robert Stanfield would become the new Prime Minister of Canada.
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It Wasn't For Lack of Trying- 1962 Finnish Presidential Election
February 4, 1962 - Finnish General Election: PRIME MINISTERS OF FINLAND:
Urho Kekkonen (AG) - 1950-1953 AgrarianMinority (Swedish People'sand National ProgressiveSupply-and-Confidence) - 1950-1951 Agrarian-Social DemocraticCoalition (Swedish People'sand National ProgressiveSupply-and-Confidence) - 1951-1951 Agrarian-Social DemocraticCoalition (Swedish People'sSupply-and-Confidence) - 1951-1953 Reino Oittinen (SDP) - 1953-1957 Social Democratic-Agrarian-National CoalitionGrand Coalition - 1953-1957 Tyyne Leivo-Larsson (SDP) - 1957-1958 Social Democratic-Agrarian-National CoalitionGrand Coalition - 1957-1958 Vaino Tanner (SDP) - 1958-? Social Democratic-Agrarian-National CoalitionGrand Coalition - 1958-1958 Social Democratic-Agrarian-Liberal Coalition - 1958-1962 Social Democratic-Union of Workers and SmallholdersCoalition (LiberalSupply-and-Confidence)
Elections for the Parliament of Finland were held on February 4, 1962. The incumbent Social Democratic government was expected to and did strengthen its grip on power. Prime Minister Tanner had called the election following foreign policy disagreements with the Agrarian Party, particularly in advance of the 1962 Finnish Presidential election. Following the results, the SDP would form an alliance with the more left wing Union of Workers and Smallholders and form a confidence agreement with the Liberals.
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It Wasn't For Lack of Trying- 1962 South Korean House of Representatives Election
May 7, 1962 - South Korean General Election: PRIME MINISTERS OF SOUTH KOREA:
Paik Too-chin (IND) - 1952-1954 IndependentLeading LiberalMajority - 1952-1954 Pyon Yong-tae (IND) - 1954-1955 IndependentLeading LiberalMajority - 1954-1954 IndependentLeading LiberalMinority - 1954-1955 Yun Chi-young (LIB) - 1955-1955 LiberalMinority - 1955-1955 Pyon Yong-tae (IND) - 1955-1956 IndependentLeading LiberalMinority - 1955-1956 Shin Song-mo (IND) - 1956-1957 IndependentLeading LiberalMinority - 1956-1956 IndependentLeading Grand Coalition - 1956-1957 Louise Yim (IND) - 1957-1958 IndependentLeading Grand Coalition - 1957-1958 Cho Pyong-ok (DEM) - 1958-1962 DemocraticMinority (IndependentSupply-and-Confidence) - 1958-1962 Yun Posun (DEM) - 1962-???? DemocraticMinority (IndependentSupply-and-Confidence) - 1962-1962 DemocraticMajority - 1962-????
Elections for the South Korean House of Representatives were held on May 7, 1962. The incumbent Democratic government, which had presided over a massive economic boom, was re-elected, this time with a clear majority. This election also marked the emergence of the Social Democratic party, a staunchly anti-Communist leftist party (of the Scoop Jackson mold).
It Wasn't For Lack of Trying- 1962 Austrian Legislative Elections
November 1, 1962 - French General Election: PRIME MINISTERS OF FRANCE: Antoine Pinay (NCI) - 1952-1952 Independents & Peasants-Radical-Popular Republican-Union of ResistanceCoalition - 1952-1952 Robert Schuman (RAD) - 1952-1954 Independents & Peasants-Radical-Popular Republican-Union of ResistanceCoalition - 1952-1954 Louis Jacquinot (NCI) - 1954-1954 Independents & Peasants-Radical-Popular Republican-Union of ResistanceCoalition - 1954-1954 Jean Letournau (RAD) - 1954-1955 Independents & Peasants-Radical-Popular Republican-Union of ResistanceCoalition - 1954-1955 Pierre Mendes France (RAD) - 1955-1956 Independents & Peasants-Radical-Popular Republican-Union of Resistance Coalition - 1955-1956 Guy Mollet (SFIO) - 1956-1959 Worker's International-Social Labor-RadicalCoalition - 1956-1958 Worker's International-Social Labor-RadicalInterim Coalition - 1958-1959 Charles De Gaulle (UNR) - 1959-1961 Union for a New Republic-Popular Republican-Left Republicans-Independents & Peasants-Social Republican-National FrontCoalition - 1959-1961 Union for a New Republic-Popular Republican-Left Republicans-Independents & Peasants-Social RepublicanCoalition - 1961-1961 Georges Pompidou (UNR) - 1961-1962 Union for a New Republic-Popular Republican-Left Republicans-Independents & Peasants-Social RepublicanCoalition - 1961-1962 David Rousset (FLS) - 1962-? Social Labor-Worker's International-RadicalCoalition - 1962-?
Elections for the National Assembly of the French Republic were held on November 1, 1962. The incumbent government of Georges Pompidou fell to a vote of no confidence following an attempt to weaken trans-atlantic ties and reopen relations with the Soviets. The previous four years had also seen the slowing of decolonization, reforms to the presidency and a cap on welfare spending growth.
While it was abundantly clear to everyone that the left would win, it was a massive upset that Democratic Socialist, socially liberal Social Labor Front would come in first place among the left-wing camp. While there was some fuss caused by former PM and SFIO leader Guy Mollet- who was widely expected to win- over the left wing pact terms (i.e. the most popular party gets the top job), FLS leader and former activist David Rousset would become the Prime Minister of the French Republic on December 11, 1962.
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It Wasn't For Lack of Trying- 1962 United States Congressional Elections
November 8, 1962 - United States Midterm Elections: MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE, 86TH CONGRESS: AL: 3. James D. Martin (R) 2. John Sparkman (D) AK: 2. Ernest Gruening (D) 3. Mike Stepovich (R) AZ: 3. Evan Mecham (R)
1. Barry Goldwater (R) AR: 2. John McClellan (D)
3. J. William Fulbright (D) CA: 1. Clair Engle (D)
3. Helen Gahagan Douglas (D) CO: 2. John Carroll (D) 3. Peter Dominick (R) CT: 1. Prescott Bush (R) 3. Abraham Ribicoff (D) DE: 1. John J. Williams (R) 2. J. Allen Frear (D) FL: 1. Claude Pepper (D)
3. George Smathers (D) GA: 2. James Carter (D)
3. Herman Talmadge (D) HI: 1. Hiram Fong (R) 3. Daniel Inouye (D) ID: 2. Glen Taylor (D)
3. Frank Church (D) IL: 2. Paul Douglas (D)
3. Sidney Yates (D) IN: 1. Harold Handley (R) 3. Birch Bayh (D) IA: 2. Guy Gillette (D) 3. Bourke Hickenlooper (R) KS: 2. James B. Pearson (R)
3. Frank Carlson (R) KY: 2. John Sherman Cooper (R) 3. Thurston B. Morton (R) LA: 2. John McKeithen (D) 3. Russell Long (D) ME: 1. Edmund Muskie (D) 2. Margaret Chase Smith (R) MD: 1. James Glenn Beall (R)
3. Edward Tylor Miller (R) MA: 1. John F. Kennedy (D)
2. George Fingold (D) MI: 1. Walter Reuther (D)
2. Patrick McNamara (D) MN: 1. Edward John Thye (R) 2. Alexander Keith (D) MS: 1. John Stennis (D)
2. James Eastland (D) MO: 1. Stuart Symington (D) 3. Crosby Kemper (R) MT: 1. Mike Mansfield (D)
2. James Murray (D) NE: 1. Roman Hruska (R)
2. Carl Curtis (R) NV: 1. Howard Cannon (D)
3. Alan Bible (D) NH: 2. Thomas McIntyre (D) 3. Norris Cotton (R) NJ: 1. Clifford Case (R) 2. Charles Howell (D) NM: 1. Dennis Chavez (D)
2. Clinton Anderson (D) NY: 1. Irving Ives (R) 3. Jacob Javits (R) NC: 2. B. Everett Jordan (D) 3. Robert Gavin (R) ND: 1. William Langer (R)
3. Milton Young (R) OH: 1. John Bricker (R) 3. Frank Lausche (D) OK: 2. Robert Kerr (D) 3. B. Hayden Crawford (R) OR: 2. Maurine Neuberger (D)
3. Wayne Morse (D) PA: 1. Harry Norwitch (D) 3. James Van Zandt (R) RI: 1. John Pastore (D)
2. Frank Licht (D) SC: 2. Strom Thurmond (D) 3. W.D. Workman (R) SD: 2. Eleanor McGovern (D) 3. George McGovern (D) TN: 1. Albert Gore (D)
2. Estes Kefauver (D) TX: 1. Ralph Yarborough (D)
2. Robert Strauss (D) UT: 1. J. Bracken Lee (R) 3. Reva Beck Bosone (D) VT: 1. Ralph Flanders (R)
3. George Aiken (R) VA: 1. Louise Wensel (D)
2. Absalom Robertson (D) WA: 1. Henry Jackson (D) 3. Richard Christensen (R) WV: 1. William Marland (D)
2. Robert Byrd (D) WI: 1. Robert La Follette Jr. (R)
3. Frank Maier (R) WY: 1. Frank Barrett (R) 2. Joseph O'Mahoney (D)
January 11, 1963 - Vietnamese Presidential Election PRESIDENTS OF SOUTH VIETNAM:
Ngo Dinh Diem (CL) - 1955-1959 Phan Khac Suu (PS) - 1959-1968
Elections for the office of President of the Republic of Vietnam were held on January 11, 1963. These were the first elections held following Vietnamese Reunification in 1961. While former President of North Vietnam Lê Đức Thọ was initially seen as a strong contender- popular in the north for having ended the war- he agreed in late 1962 to stand down in exchange for President Phan's party not running a candidate in that year's Hanoi Gubernatorial Election, in effect guaranteeing him another seven years in the city's top job.
The incumbent President ran on his strong record of land reform, investments in public healthcare and education, and a marked reduction in poverty. Phan would ironically gain the endorsement of much of the pro-American Ho Chi Minh crowd, and would easily defeat former president Nguyen Van Thieu in January. He would be sworn in for a second term on February 15, 1963.
