George Mitchell was appointed
to the United States Senate in 1980 to complete
the unexpired term of Sen. Edmund S. Muskie,
who resigned to become Secretary of State.
He was elected to a full term in the Senate
in 1982 in a stunning come-from-behind victory.
After trailing in public opinion polls by
36 points, Sen. Mitchell rallied to win the
election, receiving 61 percent of the votes
cast. Sen. Mitchell went on to an illustrious
career in the Senate spanning 14 years.
In 1988, he was reelected with 81 percent
of the vote, the largest margin in Maine history.
He left the Senate in 1995 as the Senate majority
leader, a position he had held since January
1989.
Sen. Mitchell enjoyed bipartisan respect
during his tenure. It has been said "there
is not a man, woman or child in the Capitol
who does not trust George Mitchell."
For six consecutive years he was voted "the
most respected member" of the Senate
by a bipartisan group of senior congressional
aides.
Sen. Mitchell served as chairman of the Peace
Negotiations in Northern Ireland . Under his
leadership a historic accord, ending decades
of conflict, was agreed to by the governments
of Ireland and the United Kingdom and the
political parties of Northern Ireland. In
May 1998, the agreement was overwhelmingly
endorsed by the voters of Ireland, North and
South, in a referendum.
While in the Senate, Sen. Mitchell served
on the Finance, Veterans Affairs, and Environment
and Public Works Committees. He led the successful
1990 reauthorization of the Clean Air Act,
including new controls on acid rain toxins.
He was the author of the first national oil
spill prevention and clean-up law. Sen. Mitchell
led the Senate to passage of the nation's
first child care bill and was principal author
of the low-income housing tax credit program.
He was instrumental in the passage of the
Americans with Disabilities Act, landmark
legislation extending civil rights protections
to the disabled. Sen. Mitchell's efforts led
to the passage of a higher education bill
that expanded opportunities for millions of
Americans. He was a leader in opening
markets to trade and led the Senate to ratification
of the North American Free Trade Agreement
and creation of the World Trade Organization.
Sen. Mitchell served in Berlin , Germany
, as an officer in the U.S. Army Counter-Intelligence
Corps from 1954 to 1956. From 1960
to 1962 he was a trial lawyer in the Justice
Department in Washington, D.C. From 1962 to
1965 he served as executive assistant to Sen.
Muskie. In 1965 he returned to Maine where
he engaged in the private practice of law
in Portland until 1977. He was then appointed
U.S. attorney for Maine , a position he held
until 1979, when he was appointed U.S. District
Judge for Maine. He resigned that position
in 1980 to accept appointment to the U.S.
Senate.
Sen. Mitchell is the author of four books.
With his colleague, Sen. Bill Cohen of Maine
, he wrote Men of Zeal, describing
the Iran-Contra investigation. In 1990, Sen.
Mitchell wrote, World on Fire, describing
the threat of the greenhouse effect and recommending
steps to curb it. His next book, published
in 1997, was Not For America
Alone: The Triumph of Democracy
and The Fall of Communism. In 1999,
Sen. Mitchell wrote Making Peace,
an account of his experience in Northern Ireland.
Upon leaving the Senate, Sen. Mitchell joined
Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and
Hand. He also serves as a director of
the Walt Disney Company, Federal Express,
Staples, Inc., and Starwood Hotels and Resorts.
Sen. Mitchell serves as the chancellor of
The Queen's University of Belfast and as president
of The Economic Club of Washington. He served
as chairman of the International Crisis Group,
a non-profit organization dedicated to the
prevention of crises in international affairs,
as chairman of the Special Commission investigating
allegations of impropriety in the bidding
process for the Olympic games, and as chairman
of the National Health Care Commission.
At the request of the British and Irish governments, Sen.
Mitchell served as chairman of the Peace Negotiations
in Northern Ireland. For his service there,
he received numerous awards and honors, including
the Presidential Medal of Freedom —
the highest civilian honor the U.S. government
can give; the Philadelphia Liberty Medal;
the Truman Institute Peace Prize; the German
(Hesse) Peace Prize; and the United Nations
(UNESCO) Peace Prize.
At the request of President Clinton, Prime
Minister Barak, and Chairman Arafat, Sen.
Mitchell served as chairman of an International
Fact Finding Committee on violence in the
Middle East . The committee's recommendation,
widely known as The Mitchell Report,
was endorsed by the Bush administration, the
European Union, and by many other governments.
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