George Despot

Who was George Despot?

George Joseph Despot was a Shreveport businessman and a pioneer in the establishment of a competitive Republican Party in the U.S. state of Louisiana. He was the state Republican chairman from 1978 to 1985. His leadership began when the state party was so small that there was a standing joke that the Louisiana GOP could operate from a phone booth.

Despot was born in Shreveport to George G. Despot and Katherine "Katie" Despot. The Despots were Roman Catholic and Croatian, and they came to the United States under an "Old World" arranged marriage. There were trials in the home, with more than one separation.

George Despot's younger daughter, Rebecca A. Despot, reflected on her paternal grandparents: "My grandfather and his brother had a restaurant in Shreveport called "the Columbia," [which was] open twenty-four hours a day. ... It became the businessman's hangout in town. When [one sees] old pictures of Shreveport, there are always pictures of the Columbia. They sent Daddy to school when he was three because they did not know [that] they were not supposed to send him so early."

For a time, young George Despot attended a Catholic high school in New Orleans.