Nick Begich Sr.

Nicholas Joseph Begich Sr. (born April 6, 1932 – disappeared October 16, 1972; declared dead December 29, 1972) was an American politician, school counselor, and school administrator. He served in the Alaska state senate for eight years before being elected in 1970 as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Alaska. He is presumed to have died in the crash of a light aircraft in Alaska in October 1972; his body was never found. He was a member of the Democratic Party.

Begich was born and raised in Eveleth, Minnesota. His father, John Begich (né Begić), was born in Podlapača, Udbina, Croatia. Nick Sr.'s mother, Anna (née Martinić), was also of Croatian descent. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Saint Cloud State University in 1952 and a Master of Arts from the University of Minnesota in 1954. He took graduate courses at the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of North Dakota.

Both Begich and his brother Joseph made careers in politics. Joseph Begich stayed in Eveleth. He served 18 years in the Minnesota House of Representatives from that base.

Begich moved to Alaska after college, where he worked as a guidance counselor in the schools of Anchorage. He was later Director of Student Personnel for the Anchorage school system before becoming Superintendent of Schools at Fort Richardson.

In 1962, Begich was elected to the Alaska Senate, where he served for eight years. Begich also taught political science during parts of this period at the University of Alaska at Anchorage.

In 1968, Begich ran at-large for Alaska's only U.S. House seat. He lost to the incumbent, Republican Howard Pollock.

In 1970, Pollock ran for Governor of Alaska, and Begich ran again for Congress. He succeeded in defeating the Republican banker Frank Murkowski. The latter was later elected as a U.S. Senator and then as Governor of Alaska. In 1972 in his re-election race, Begich was opposed by Republican state senator Don Young.

Begich's plane went down weeks before the election but his body was not found. His name was still on the ballot, and Begich posthumously won the 1972 election, with 56% to Don Young's 44%. However, after Begich was declared dead, a special election was held. Young won the seat and retained it until his own death on March 18, 2022.