Nels Hansen Smith (August 27, 1884 – July 5, 1976) was an American politician who served as the 18th Governor of Wyoming from 1939 until 1943.

He was born on August 27, 1884, in Gayville in the Dakota Territory to Danish immigrants Margaret (née Larsen) and Peter Smith.

[3] In 1942, when it was proposed Japanese-Americans be relocated to Wyoming Governor Smith told Milton Eisenhower, “If you bring any Japs into my state they will be hanging from every tree.”[4] He lost the 1942 election to Lester Hunt, a Democrat.

In 1942, Smith and two partners bought Ranch A in Crook County, from the estate of Moses Annenberg; it is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

He and his son, Connie's father, exhausted all resources trying to find her, but to no avail.