Governor Kenneth Hood Mackay

KENNETH H. (Buddy) MACKAY, JR., the forty-second governor of Florida, was born in Ocala, Florida on March 22, 1933. His education was attained at Ocala High School, and at the University of Florida, where he earned an undergraduate degree in 1954 and a law degree in 1961. MacKay entered politics in 1968, serving as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, a position he held until 1974. He also served as a member of the Florida State Senate from 1974 to 1980, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 1989, and served as the lieutenant governor of Florida from 1991 to 1998. Governor Lawton Chiles passed away on December 12, 1998, and MacKay, who was lieutenant governor at the time, assumed the duties of the governorship. He served in this capacity until January 5, 1999, when newly elected Governor Jeb Bush was sworn into office.