Julius Albert Krug – Government Official

Julius Albert Krug was born on November 23, 1907, ar Madison, Wisconsin.
He was appointed Secretary of the Interior from: Wisconsin
Nominated: February 26, 1946
Confirmed: March 5, 1946
Took Office: March 18, 1946
Served Under: President Harry S. Truman
Termination: December 1, 1949
Length of Service: 3 years, 8 months, 14 days
Died: March 26, 1970
Buried: Arlington National Cemetery

Julius Albert Krug was born November 23, 1907 in Madison, Wisconsin. A 1929 graduate of the University of Wisconsin who received his M.A. in 1930, he was employed by the Wisconsin Telephone Company, the Wisconsin Public Utilities Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Kentucky Public Service Commission before becoming chief power engineer with the Tennessee Valley Authority.

After promotion to TVA manager of power (1940-41), Krug became chief of the power branch of the Office of Production Management. Subsequent to the transferral of his division to the War Production Board in early 1942, he became chief of the WPB power branch and was named director of the Office of War Utilities in 1943. In April 1944, he enlisted in the United States Navy but in August was recalled to Washington to serve as acting chairman of the War Production Board, a position which he held until November 1945.

In 1946 Krug was appointed by Harry S. Truman to succeed Harold I. Ickes as Secretary of the Interior. In that position he also served as United States coal mines administrator in 1946-47. In 1946, he unsuccessfully negotiated with John L. Lewis and mine owners in an effort to end a two-month nationwide strike by the United Mineworkers of America.

As Secretary of the Interior, he opposed attempts by lumber interests to log huge forests in the state of Washington and resisted the building of unnecessary and unsightly dams. Krug resigned from the Cabinet in November 1949.

After his tenure as Interior Secretary, Krug established a utilities consulting practice in Washington. In addition, he was chairman of the board of Brookside Mills, Inc., Knoxville, Tennessee and with his brother founded the Volunteer Asphalt Company in Knoxville. Julius A. Krug died in Knoxville on March 26, 1970 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, D. C.

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard