Robert E. Hannegan

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Robert Emmet Hannegan (June 30, 1903–October 6, 1949) was a St. Louis, Missouri politician who served as Commissioner of Internal Revenue from October of 1943 to January of 1944. He also served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1944 to 1947 and United States Postmaster General from 1945 to 1947. After his political career, in 1947, Hannegan and partner Fred Saigh purchased the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball. But Hannegan, ill with heart disease, sold his share in the team to Saigh a few months before his death.

1 Education
2 Politics
3 Death
4 Trivia
5 External links
6 References

[edit] Education

Hannegan earned a LL.B. from Saint Louis University School of Law in 1925.^{[citations needed]}

[edit] Politics

A power broker in the St. Louis Democratic Party allied with Senator Bennett Clark, Hannegan helped save the political career of Harry S. Truman in 1940 following the downfall of Truman's sponsor Kansas City boss Tom Pendergast. Hannegan supported Truman in a U.S. Senate race against Lloyd C. Stark and Maurice M. Milligan who split the anti-Pendergast vote. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt offered Truman the position of DNC chairman, Truman declined and recommended Hannegan. As Democratic chairman, Hannegan was responsible for brokering the deal that made Truman Roosevelt's running mate in 1944.

Though plagued with ill health for much of his tenure, Hannegan emphasized voter turnout efforts in Roosevelt's 1944 re-election campaign and prevented an upset by Thomas Dewey, who won a surprising 46 percent of the popular vote that year. He promoted a liberal policy agenda for the national party and was a strong advocate of labor unions. Hannegan stepped down as chairman after Democrats suffered Congressional losses in the 1946 midterm elections, but his ideological focus at the helm of the party contributed to Truman's surprise win in the Presidential election of 1948.

[edit] Death

Hannegan is interred at Calvary Cemetary in St. Louis, section 18.^[1]

[edit] Trivia

Hannegan was mentioned in the film Miracle on 34th Street in his role as Postmaster General. Therefore in the film, by implication, he was responsible for affirming that Mr. Kris Kringle, the central character was the one and only Santa Claus.

Political offices
Preceded by Frank C. Walker	United States Postmaster General 1945 – 1947	Succeeded by Jesse M. Donaldson
Party political offices
Preceded by Frank C. Walker	Chairman of the Democratic National Committee 1944 – 1947	Succeeded by J. Howard McGrath