Former Pa. Gov. George Leader dies at 95

Gov. Tom Corbett has ordered state flags lowered to half-staff in honor of former Gov. George Leader.

Corbett said Thursday the flags will remain lowered until sunset of the day Leader is buried.

Leader, a Democrat who led an overhaul of the state’s mental-health system and made special education a requirement in Pennsylvania public schools during the 1950s, died Thursday morning after a brief illness. He was 95.

Corbett, a Republican, calls Leader a friend and says he had an unsurpassed grasp of politics.

Former Gov. Ed Rendell says Leader will be remembered as a man who cared deeply about what happened around him. He says it’s possible that no other Pennsylvanian has had as dramatic an impact on government, politics, community, business and philanthropy.