State Farm Insurance Head Edward B. Rust

Edward B. Rust, president and chief executive officer of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. and president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 1973-74, died Sunday. He was 66.

Rust had been undergoing treatment for aplastic anemia, a blood and bone marrow disorder, for several years.

A Bloomington native and 1940 honors graduate of Stanford University, Rust joined State Farm in 1941 and became a board member of the parent company, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., in 1952. He was named executive vice president of operations in 1954, and became president of the parent company four years later.

He was named board chairman in 1983 and served as president and chief executive officer of the parent firm and its seven affiliates, which write property-casualty and life insurance coverage.

Rust was the architect of State Farm’s decentralization plan, which began during the 1940s and led to the establishment of 24 regional offices in the United States and one in Canada.

As president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, he led U.S. business delegations to the Soviet Union and the Middle East.

Rust also served on advisory councils dealing with insurance and minority business enterprises during the Nixon Administration.