20 Facts About Bill Anoatubby

Billy Joe Anoatubby was born on November 8,1945 and is the Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, a position he has held since 1987.

From 1979 to 1987, Anoatubby served two terms as Lieutenant Governor of the Chickasaw Nation in the administration of Governor Overton James, after being popularly elected to office.

Bill Anoatubby was born in Denison, Texas, the youngest of six children of Opal Faye and Joseph Morris Bill Anoatubby.

In 1964, Bill Anoatubby graduated from Tishomingo High School, where he played football and was active in student government.

Bill Anoatubby attended Murray State College in Tishomingo, before transferring to East Central University in Ada, where he earned a bachelor's degree in accounting.

Bill Anoatubby undertook additional studies in business and finance at ECU and Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, Oklahoma.

Bill Anoatubby attained the rank of staff sergeant and command of a light truck platoon, before his honorable discharge in 1971.

From 1972 to 1974, Bill Anoatubby was employed as an office manager for American Plating Company.

In July 1975, Bill Anoatubby was hired by the Chickasaw Nation government, then based in Sulphur, Oklahoma, to serve as Director of Tribal Health Services.

Bill Anoatubby managed tribal health programs in a 13-county region of South Central Oklahoma.

Bill Anoatubby provided program and personnel management, including supervision of tribal department directors.

Bill Anoatubby was re-elected alongside James for a second four-year term in 1983.

In 1987, Bill Anoatubby was elected as the 30th Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, the twelfth-largest tribe in the United States.

Bill Anoatubby is serving his 9th consecutive term in office, having been reelected in 1991,1995,1999,2003,2007,2011,2015, and 2019; on four occasions he faced no opposition.

Bill Anoatubby has devised a multi-pronged approach to improving conditions for the tribe in the areas of tribal finance, education, business and economic development, environmental protection, and healthcare.

Bill Anoatubby has been described as a modest, almost self-effacing politician who seems happy to share the credit for the Nation's successes.

Bill Anoatubby decided to run for national office in the 1998 election, he sought the Democratic Party nomination for the 3rd District US House seat.

Bill Anoatubby placed third in the four-candidate field in the Democratic primary.

In 2014 Bill Anoatubby was mentioned as a possible candidate for the US Senate special election that year to replace Tom Coburn, but he decided not to run.

Bill Anoatubby was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2004.