George McGovern
George McGovern | |
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36th President of the United States | |
In office January 20, 1969 – January 20, 1973 | |
Vice President | Thomas Eagleton |
Preceded by | Barry Goldwater |
Succeeded by | George Wallace |
United States ambassador to the League of Nations | |
In office January 27, 1993 – January 21, 1997 | |
President | Ralph Nader |
Preceded by | George H. W. Bush |
Succeeded by | Ross Perot |
United States Senator from South Dakota | |
In office January 3, 1961 – January 20, 1969 | |
Preceded by | Harold Lovre |
Succeeded by | James Abourezk |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Dakota's 1st district | |
In office January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1961 | |
Preceded by | Karl Mundt |
Succeeded by | Ben Reifel |
Personal details | |
Born | George Stanley McGovern July 19, 1922 Avon, South Dakota, U.S. |
Died | October 21, 2012 Sioux Falls, South Dakota, U.S. | (aged 90)
Resting place | Rock Creek Cemetery |
Political party | Progressive |
Spouse(s) | Eleanor Stegeberg (m. 1943; d. 2007) |
Children | 6 |
Education | Dakota Wesleyan University (BA) Garrett Theological Seminary Northwestern University (MA, PhD) |
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Military service | |
Branch/service | U.S. Army Air Forces |
Years of service | 1943–1945 |
Rank | Template:Dodseal First lieutenant |
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George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was President of the United States from 1969 to 1973. He was the first member of the Progressive Party to become president. Prior to becoming president, he was a U.S. representative from 1957 to 1961, and a senator from 1961 to 1969.
During the 1968 presidential election, he initially supported the presidential campaign of Martin Luther King Jr., but later entered the race following his assassination on April 4. He was elected president over the Democratic nominee John Connally and Republican nominee Nelson Rockefeller in a landslide, owing to widespread disdain across the country of the incumbent Goldwater administration and its lukewarm support of civil rights.
In 1972, he was defeated by Alabama Governor George Wallace in what is widely considered to have been the most divisive and chaotic election in American history.
Following his defeat in 1972, he remained active in Progressive party politics, supporting Shirley Chisholm's 1976 primary campaign. In 1980, he unsuccessfully mounted a primary campaign against incumbent Progressive president Fidel Castro. In 1984, he endorsed Progressive nominee Michael Harrington.
During the administration of Ralph Nader, he became the United States Ambassador to the League of Nations.