Lamar Alexander

From Free net encyclopedia

Template:Infobox Senator Andrew Lamar Alexander (born July 3, 1940) is the junior United States Senator from Tennessee and a member of the Republican Party. He had previously been the 45th Governor of Tennessee from 1979 to 1987 and a Cabinet secretary under President George H.W. Bush.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Political career 3 Presidential campaigns 4 Return to Senate 5 Other information 6 External links

Early life

A seventh generation Tennessean, he was born in Maryville, Tennessee as the son of a kindergarten teacher and elementary school principal. He is an Eagle Scout and recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America, as well as a brother of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.

He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Vanderbilt University and was a law review editor at New York University Law School, where he roomed with current NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. He then clerked for John Minor Wisdom of the U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans, served as legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Howard Baker and worked for Bryce Harlow, counselor to late President Richard Nixon.

Political career

Alexander was the Republican candidate for governor of Tennessee in the election of 1974 facing Democrat Ray Blanton, a former congressman and candidate for Senate two years earlier. Blanton attacked Alexander for his service under Nixon, who had resigned in disgrace several months earlier. He also portrayed Alexander as being too distant from average Tennesseeans, even though Alexander was the son of teachers.

The Tennessee State Constitution had been amended in early 1978 to allow a governor to succeed himself, but Blanton didn't run for reelection. Alexander ran again, and defeated Knoxville banker Jake Butcher in the election of 1978. In early 1979, a furor ensued over pardons made by Blanton that appeared to be made out of pure politics; some of them smacked of bribery. Since the state constitution is somewhat vague on when a governor must be sworn in, several political leaders from both parties, including Lieutenant Governor John S. Wilder and State House Speaker Ned McWherter, arranged for Alexander to be sworn in three days earlier than scheduled. Wilder later called the move "impeachment Tennessee-style."

Alexander made history by becoming the first person reelected to a 2nd 4-year term by defeating Knoxville mayor, Randy Tyree, in the 1982 election. Opting out of the 1984 U.S. Senate contest for the open seat of retiring Majority Leader Howard Baker, Alexander was constitutionally ineligible for a 3rd term and stepped down from the governorship in January 1987. Moving with his family to Australia for a time, he would soon return to Tennessee and became the president of the University of Tennessee (1988–1991), and United States Secretary of Education (1991–1993). He helped found a company that is now the nation's largest provider of worksite day care. He taught about the American character as a faculty member at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

Presidential campaigns

He ran for the Republican Presidential nomination in 1996. He tried to project a “common man” image by frequently wearing plaid flannel shirts. His campaign signs were a simple "Lamar!" on a red background. His most visible campaign issue was to revert Congress back to an earlier vision of a group of citizen-legislators, who would only be in session half a year. Thus his slogan was "Cut their pay and send them home!" Alexander's campaign achieved some momentum in the early caucus and primary states, with upper-echelon finishes in a crowded field. He did not win any primaries, however, and eventually he lost forward progress and withdrew in the face of Bob Dole's superior organizational strength. Some said that the Democrats considered Alexander the most formidable of the GOP group and were relieved when Dole received the nomination.

Alexander ran for the Presidential nomination again in 2000. This time he ran a more conventional effort, dressed in business suits and without the part-time Congress issue. However he met with even less success.

Return to Senate

Vowing to never again return to elective office, he was persuaded by the White House to run for the open seat of retiring Senator Fred Thompson in 2002. Seen as a moderate, his candidacy was vigorously opposed by conservatives who supported Congressman Ed Bryant, who had become one of the House managers during the 1998 impeachment of President Bill Clinton. Alexander was well-funded and was armed by more prominent endorsements and eked out a closer-than-expected win over Bryant in the primary. Democrats had high hopes of recovering the seat with their candidate, Nashville Congressman Bob Clement, a member of a prominent political family, and despite grumblings by conservatives to defect to the moderately liberal Clement, Alexander was successful in defeating Clement in the general election that year. With his election to the U.S. Senate, he became the first Tennessean to be popularly elected both governor and senator. At 62, Alexander also became the oldest elected freshman U.S. Senator from Tennessee since Democrat Lawrence Tyson in 1924.

Senator Alexander chairs the subcommittees on Children and Families, on Energy, on African Affairs, as well as the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Caucus.

Other information

In his second, successful campaign for governor, Lamar Alexander walked 1,000 miles across Tennessee in his now famous red and black plaid shirt. He is a classical and country pianist and the author of seven books, including Six Months Off, the story of his family's life in Australia after he was governor.

He is married to the former Honey Buhler of Victoria, Texas. They have four children. The Alexanders’ home is outside Maryville at the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He is an elder of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Nashville.

External links

• Senate homepage
• BSA Fact Sheet

Template:Start box {{succession box | before= Ray Blanton | title= Governor of Tennessee | years= 1979 – 1987 | after= Ned McWherter}} {{succession box | before= Edward Boling | title= President of the University of Tennessee | after= Joe Johnson | years= 1988 - 1991}} {{succession box | before= Lauro Cavazos | title= United States Secretary of Education | years= 1991 - 1993 | after= Richard Riley}} {{incumbent U.S. Senator box | state=Tennessee | class=2 | before=Fred Dalton Thompson | alongside=Bill Frist | start=2003}} Template:End box

Template:USSecEd Template:TNGovernors Template:TN-FedRep Template:Current U.S. Senatorsfr:Lamar Alexander ru:Александер, Ламар sv:Lamar Alexander