John West, former S.C. governor, dies

CHARLESTON, S.C., March 22 (UPI) -- John Carl West, governor of South Carolina from 1971-75 and who was credited with improving race relations in the state, has died at age 81.

West died Sunday at his home on Hilton Head Island, S.C. He had been ill with cancer, the Charleston Post and Courier reported.

The newspaper said West, a Democrat, was best known for working for the establishment of the state Human Affairs Commission in 1972. The group was formed to look into unfair and unconstitutional practices in the workplace.

"Politics was always secondary to what he was thinking, former state Democratic Party Chairman Don Fowler told the Post and Courier. "What mattered most to him was doing what was right."

West was elected governor in 1970 after serving as Gov. Robert McNair's lieutenant governor for one four-year term. He was selected U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia by President Carter and held that post from 1977-81.

West was born Aug. 27, 1922, in Camden, S.C. He graduated from The Citadel in 1942 and was voted the smartest member of the class.