C. Coe Swobe

Chester Coe Swobe was a Nevada attorney and public servant whose career spanned law, government, and the profession's own institutions. Born in Reno on May 23, 1929, he attended the University of Nevada and earned his law degree from the University of Denver College of Law. Admitted to the practice of law in Nevada in 1960, he began his legal career as an assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada, serving from 1960 to 1962.

A Republican, Swobe was elected to the Nevada Assembly in 1962 and then to the Nevada Senate in 1966, where he represented the 1st district until 1974. During his time in the Senate he helped establish the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency in 1969, work that earned him lasting recognition as a father of the Tahoe Bi-State Compact and a leading figure in the effort to protect Lake Tahoe.

Swobe remained active in the legal profession throughout his life, serving on the State Bar of Nevada's Board of Governors from 1991 to 2000. He died in Reno on May 26, 2016, three days after his 87th birthday.