| Lee Maurice Russell | |
| Image Name: | Lee M. Russell.jpg |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Order1: | 40th |
| Title1: | Governor of Mississippi |
| Term Start1: | January 20, 1920 |
| Term End1: | January 22, 1924 |
| Lieutenant1: | Homer H. Casteel |
| Predecessor1: | Theodore G. Bilbo |
| Successor1: | Henry L. Whitfield |
| Order2: | 18th |
| Title2: | Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi |
| Term Start2: | January 18, 1916 |
| Term End2: | January 20, 1920 |
| Governor2: | Theodore G. Bilbo |
| Predecessor2: | Theodore G. Bilbo |
| Successor2: | Homer H. Casteel |
| Birth Date: | November 16, 1875 |
| Birth Place: | Lafayette County, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Profession: | Lawyer |
| Spouse: | Ethel May Day |
| Termstart3: | January 1912 |
| Termend3: | January 1916 |
| State Senate3: | Mississippi State |
| District3: | 32nd |
| State House4: | Mississippi |
| Termstart4: | January 1908 |
| Termend4: | January 1912 |
| District4: | Lafayette County |
| Successor3: | James C. Eskridge |
| Predecessor3: | Robert Aaron Dean |
Lee Maurice Russell (November 16, 1875May 16, 1943) was an American politician from Mississippi.
He was born in Lafayette County, Mississippi, to William Eaton Russell and Louisa Jane (Mackey) Russell, and he later attended the University of Mississippi.[1] [2] During his time as a student, he was the leader in a movement to abolish Greek fraternities. Russell graduated from the university in 1901 and enrolled in the University of Mississippi School of Law. After completing the course, he was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Oxford, Mississippi.
Russell was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1907, representing Lafayette County from 1908 to 1912, and he was elected to the Mississippi State Senate in 1911, representing the 32nd district from 1912 to 1916. In 1912, he successfully passed a bill prohibiting secret and exclusive societies at the public institutions of higher learning. The law stayed on the books for twelve years.
Russell was elected to the office of lieutenant governor in 1915 and elected governor in 1919. Crop failures due to the boll weevil marked his term. Russell also filed an antitrust suit against several fire insurance companies for their business practices.
In 1923, he was sued for seduction and breach of promise by his former secretary Frances Birkhead.[3] Russell was acquitted, and he blamed the lawsuit on the fire insurance industry.
Russell could not run for re-election due to the term limits in the Mississippi constitution. He retired to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. There he sold real estate for a period before returning to Jackson to practice law until his death on May 16, 1943.[4] He is buried at Lakewood Memorial Park in Jackson.