Malcolm Wallop

Malcolm Wallop – Life, Career, and Legacy of a Wyoming Statesman

Learn about Malcolm Wallop (1933–2011), U.S. Senator from Wyoming, rancher, conservative legislator, and thinker. Explore his biography, political accomplishments, ideology, and lasting influence.

Introduction

Malcolm Wallop was a prominent American politician and rancher who served three terms as a U.S. Senator from Wyoming (1977–1995). Though not a household name outside political and Western circles, Wallop played a consequential role in debates over taxation, natural resource policy, federal regulation, and national defense during the transformative years of the Reagan and post–Cold War era. His life combines frontier roots, aristocratic lineage, and a conviction in limited government and property rights.

Early Life and Family

Malcolm Wallop was born on February 27, 1933, at Doctors Hospital in Manhattan, New York City.

He was the son of Oliver Malcolm Wallop and Jean Moore Wallop. Oliver Henry Wallop, who had emigrated from England, become a rancher in Wyoming, and held the title of the 8th Earl of Portsmouth in the British peerage.

Though born in New York, he was raised in Wyoming: his family homesteaded in the Big Horn region, and Wallop attended public schools in Big Horn County. Cate School (in Carpinteria, California) for secondary education.

In 1954, Wallop graduated from Yale University with a B.A. degree, where he was affiliated with the St. Anthony Hall society. U.S. Army from 1955 to 1957, earning the rank of first lieutenant.

Ranching and Early Political Career

Following his military service, Wallop returned to Wyoming and devoted himself to cattle ranching and business interests.

Wallop’s political career began at the state level:

• From 1969 to 1972, he served in the Wyoming House of Representatives as a Republican.

• Then from 1973 to 1976, he held a seat in the Wyoming State Senate.

• In 1974, he made an unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination for Governor of Wyoming.

His early legislative experience in the state houses gave him insight into local governance, resource policy, and the tensions between federal and state authority—issues that he would carry into his U.S. Senate service.

U.S. Senate (1977–1995)

Election & Terms

Wallop first ran for the U.S. Senate in the 1976 election, defeating incumbent Democrat Gale W. McGee with about 55 % of the vote. January 3, 1977.

He was re-elected in 1982 by a large margin, and then again in 1988, narrowly in the latter race by roughly 1,322 votes.

Although he had pledged initially to serve only two terms, he ultimately served three full terms, stepping down at the end of his third term in 1995.

Policy Focus & Legislative Achievements

During his Senate tenure, Wallop was noted for championing conservative and Western-oriented policies. Some of his significant contributions include:

• Tax reform & estate/gift taxes: In 1981, Wallop sponsored legislation to cut inheritance and gift taxes. This effort became a key component of President Ronald Reagan’s broader tax reform agenda.

• Property rights & compensating for regulatory takings: As part of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, he introduced a “Wallop Amendment” forcing the federal government to compensate property owners whose mining rights were restricted by federal regulation.

• Water and states’ rights protections: He amended the Clean Water Act to reinforce that federal regulation should respect state authority — defending states’ interests over sweeping federal control.

• Energy policy & natural resources: He served on (and later was ranking Republican on) the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (1990–94). He played a key role in passing the Energy Policy Act of 1992, shaping federal incentives, conservation, and energy development rules.

• Defense & missile defense advocacy: Wallop was an early proponent of missile defense systems, including concepts that would evolve into the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). He co-authored The Arms Control Delusion (1987) with Angelo Codevilla, critiquing arms control agreements as weakening U.S. strategic advantage.

• Congressional Award Act: In his first term, he championed and passed the legislation establishing the Congressional Award program, which recognizes youth civic service and achievement.

• Trade & international engagement: Wallop supported U.S. participation in GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) and active trade negotiations. He traveled internationally and participated in trade missions.

Wallop also held leadership positions: from 1981 to 1983 he was Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics.

Style, Philosophy, and Criticisms

Wallop was known for his outspoken conservatism, emphasis on limited government, strong defense, and defense of individual and state rights.

He often clashed with federal overreach and regulatory programs, especially when they threatened Western resource economies (mining, grazing, water, energy).

After the Senate & Later Years

Upon leaving the Senate in January 1995, Wallop founded the Frontiers of Freedom Institute, a non-profit advocacy and policy organization focusing on constitutionalism, limited government, energy, and defense issues.

In 1996, he played a key role in Steve Forbes’ presidential campaign, serving as General Chairman and Executive Director, and helping the campaign win primary contests in Delaware and Arizona.

Later in life, he continued to write, lecture, and influence conservative circles, particularly on defense and energy policy.

Wallop passed away on September 14, 2011, at his home near Big Horn, Wyoming, aged 78.

Legacy and Impact

Malcolm Wallop’s legacy is multifaceted, especially in conservative, Western, and resource-policy domains:

• Defending Western interests: His advocacy for property and state rights, particularly in land, mineral, and water policy, resonates still today in debates over federal regulation and resource extraction in the American West.

• Tax and fiscal policy influence: His role in shaping estate and gift tax cuts is remembered as a substantive contribution to the Reagan era’s fiscal agenda.

• Strategic & defense thought: His early advocacy of missile defense and critique of arms control contributed to the intellectual underpinnings of late Cold War strategic debates.

• Inspirational to conservative activists: Through the Frontiers of Freedom and his public writings, he nurtured the next generation of conservative voices.

• Symbol of blending frontier with aristocratic lineage: His background—English aristocratic roots plus Wyoming ranching—gives him a distinctive story bridging tradition and frontier ethos.

His papers, speeches, and legislative archives are preserved at the University of Wyoming’s American Heritage Center, sustaining research on his life and career.

Thoughts & Reflections

Malcolm Wallop’s life story highlights several meaningful themes:

• The tension between ideological consistency and political compromise.

• How regional and local interests (e.g. in energy, land, water) intersect with national policy debates.

• The role of conviction-driven legislators in shaping policy beyond mere incrementalism.

• The interplay of heritage and place in forming identity and public service—a man rooted in Wyoming, yet aware of global strategic stakes.