PAUL DOMINQUE LAXALT was born in Reno, Nevada, on August 2, 1922. He served as a medic in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He graduated from Santa Clara University in 1946, and received a LL.B. from University of Denver in 1949. He was admitted to the Nevada bar in 1949 and commenced practice in Carson City. He served as district attorney for Ormsby County, Nevada, from 1950 to 1954; city attorney for Carson City from 1951 to 1954 and lieutenant governor from 1963 to 1966. He was elected Governor of Nevada in 1966, but chose not to run for a second term. During his tenure, a community college system was established, a corporate gambling law passed and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency was created. In 1974, Laxalt was elected to the U.S. Senate, and he was subsequently appointed by the governor in December 1974 to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator Alan Bible for the term ending January 1975. He was reelected in 1980, but did not seek another term and retired from public service to practice law in January 1987. In 1988, he chaired the Republican National Committee.