Former Alabama Governor Albert Brewer has died at the age of 88.
Brewer was known for reshaping Alabama’s public education system during a fill-in term as governor after the death of Lurleen Wallace, then championing constitutional reform as an elder statesman of Alabama politics.
Current Alabama Governor Robert Bentley released a statement yesterday saying the state had lost a great leader.
Wayne Flynt, an expert in Southern history at Auburn University, calls Brewer “the only governor we had who ever came close to being a ‘New South’ governor.”
Brewer brought a low-key and businesslike style to the office of governor that was dramatically different from George Wallace, the outspoken segregationist who had his wife elected while pursuing a presidential campaign.