Robert Evander McNair, who served as South Carolina’s governor from 1965-71, died Saturday at the age of 83 from complications of a brain tumor.

As word spread of McNair’s death Saturday, his political colleagues and friends spoke of a courtly man possessed of legendary political skills and a sense of his place at a moment of great societal upheaval in the South and the United States.

He was “the man for the times,” said Jim Konduros, McNair’s law partner and former gubernatorial aide.

In some ways, McNair was the “accidental governor,” thrust into the job in 1965 when Gov. Donald Russell resigned to take the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the death of longtime U.S. Sen. Olin Johnston. But even as a young state legislator, the courtly McNair had ambitions for the state’s highest office.

Eighteen months after he succeeded Russell, McNair won a four-year term in his own right. He earned accolades as a chief executive adept at luring new industry to the state and committed to the improvement of education and race relations.

After leaving office, McNair founded one of the state’s most prestigious law firms. He remained the S.C. Democratic Party’s chief powerhouse throughout the 1970s and ’80s. [CAROLYN CLICK and JAMES T. HAMMOND - The State]