MS SC501

Former Mississippi Governor William A. "Bill" Allain died on December 2, 2013, at age 85, after serving as the state's 59th Governor from 1984-1988 and as State Attorney General for four years prior.

As Attorney General, Allain won the landmark case Allain v. Alexander, often called "Mississippi's Marbury vs. Madison," which established separation of powers by prohibiting state legislators from serving on executive boards and agencies.

As Governor, Allain supported constitutional reform, restructured the State Board of Education, reformed the Highway Department, and championed diversity by bringing women and minorities into leadership positions in state government.

Allain was a Notre Dame graduate and University of Mississippi law school graduate (1950) who served three years in the U.S. Infantry during the Korean War and practiced law in Natchez and Jackson throughout his career.

The Legislature mourns his loss and expresses sympathy to his surviving family, recognizing him as an accomplished attorney, legal scholar, consumer advocate, and man of principle and courage.