Frank N. Ikard; Former Texas Congressman

Frank N. Ikard, 78, a former congressman who once was a member of a circle of powerful Texans that included Lyndon B. Johnson and Sam Rayburn. Ikard, a Democrat, represented Texas’ 13th District in the House for 10 years, resigning in 1961 to join the American Petroleum Institute. He was president of the institute when he retired in 1979, and during his tenure was a vigorous opponent of government price controls on crude oil. But he also campaigned within the industry for greater understanding of regulators. Ikard was a state court judge when he was elected to the House in a special election in September, 1951. During his terms, Congress was led by Texans--Johnson as Senate majority leader and Rayburn as House Speaker. When Eugene McCarthy, who served with Ikard in the House, won a Senate seat, Ikard recommended the Minnesota freshman to Johnson, who responded by giving McCarthy key committee assignments. In 1968--to Ikard’s chagrin--Vietnam War opponent McCarthy mounted a challenge to the President’s renomination. In Washington on Wednesday of complications after a kidney removal.