Frank Goad Clement (June 2, 1920 – November 4, 1969) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 41st Governor of Tennessee from 1953 to 1959 and from 1963 to 1967.

[3] His final years, including his last term as governor, were marked by severe alcohol abuse which deeply affected his personal and professional life.

[5] In November 1943, at the height of World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, eventually rising to the rank of first lieutenant and commanding officer of Company C of the Military Police Battalion at Camp Bullis in Texas.

Clement had the support of political boss E. H. Crump and Nashville Banner publisher James Stahlman, however, and travelled to all 95 of the state's counties, giving speeches in which he assailed Browning as "dishonest, indecent, and immoral.

"[6] He defeated Browning for the nomination, 302,487 votes to 245,156, and routed the Republican candidate, Madisonville attorney Beecher Witt, in the general election.

The amendments included the extension of the gubernatorial term from two to four years, the repeal of the poll tax, and the authorization of consolidated city-county (or "metropolitan") governments.

[6] Several of Clement's close associates, among them his secretary of state, Eddie Friar, and comptroller, Jean Bodfish, turned against him.

In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court declared state segregation laws unconstitutional in its landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education.

In 1955, Clement vetoed a bill introduced by 85-year-old state senator Charles Stainback that would have effectively maintained segregation in schools in Fayette and Haywood counties.

He was also chosen to give the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention that year in Chicago, as party leaders hoped his speaking ability could help offset the popularity of the Republican incumbent, Dwight D.

[2] Future president Bill Clinton, then 9 years old, watched the speech from his parents' living room, and later described it as a "rousing" address in his memoir, My Life.

"[12] New York Herald Tribune writer Red Smith likened the speech to "slaying the Republicans with the jawbone of an ass.

"[2] David Halberstam described it as a "thundering overheated, overlong, overkill speech" that ended Clement's career as a national politician.

[14] Arthur Langlie, who was slated to deliver the keynote address at the Republican convention later that year, stated, "I'll be passing up the Chicago brand of prejudicial fire and brimstone.

[6] In the general election, he defeated Maryville attorney Hubert Patty, the Republican candidate, and retired naval captain William Anderson of Waverly, who was running as an independent.

Although newspapers did not extensively cover his addiction to liquor, friends and family members noticed that Clement spent much time drinking and lost some of his political effectiveness.

The Republican candidate, rising politician Howard Baker, successfully connected Clement to President Lyndon B. Johnson's social policies, which were unpopular among rural Tennesseans.

[5] In 1959, Clement served as honorary Co-Chairman on the Board of Directors for the newly founded Country Music Association (CMA).

He and Albert Gore, Sr., were bestowed this honor in appreciation for their public service to the state of Tennessee and their support in accommodating the country music industry.