Former Idaho Governor And U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne Dies At 74
Dirk Kempthorne, the former governor of Idaho and U.S. secretary of the Interior, died Saturday at 74 in Boise, his family announced, NPR reported.
The announcement noted his decades of public service at both state and federal levels. He served as Idaho governor from 1999 to 2006 and as U.S. secretary of the Interior from 2006 to 2009 under President George W. Bush, according to the NPR obituary.
Kempthorne rose to statewide office after serving as mayor of Boise and a term in the U.S. Senate. He became known for his work on land, water and conservation issues while governor and later led the Interior Department's management of federal lands and natural resources.
Funeral plans and further details about the cause of death were not immediately released, NPR said.
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đ Key Facts
- Dirk Kempthorne died Friday evening, April 24, 2026, in Boise, Idaho, at age 74.
- He previously served as Boise mayor, U.S. senator from Idaho, Idaho governor, and U.S. Interior secretary under President George W. Bush.
- Kempthorne had been diagnosed with colon cancer last year, though his family did not state an official cause of death.
- As Interior secretary, he backed listing the polar bear as a threatened species in 2008, a move he was prepared to resign over before Bush supported it.
- In a later role, he helped coordinate the evacuation of nearly 400 U.S. citizens and Afghan allies after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
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