George W. Romney

George Wilcken Romney (born July 8, 1907 in Colonia Dublán , Chihuahua , Mexico ; † July 26, 1995 in Bloomfield Hills , Michigan ) was an American politician and the 43rd Governor of Michigan from 1963 to 1969 and between 1969 and 1973 Secretary of Construction and Development under US President Richard Nixon . He is the father of Mitt Romney , US presidential candidate in 2012.

Early years

Romney's grandfather, Miles Park Romney, had four wives. After polygamy in federal territories of the United States - the legal status of Utah at the time - was banned by the Edmunds Act 1882, he fled with other Mormons to Chihuahua in Mexico in 1885 , although polygamy was also prohibited there. The Romneys were part of the fundamentalist LeBaron family , whose descendants still live in Mexico today. As a child, George Romney returned to the United States with his parents from Mexico. In addition to primary school, he completed an apprenticeship as a carpenter with his father. He then spent some time as a Mormon missionary in England and Scotland. He attended the University of Utah and then George Washington University , but did not graduate from it. He then made a successful career as a businessman. First he worked for Alcoa , and later he made it up to chairman or president of American Motors Corporation . He also served as the leader of a parish district for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) in the Detroit area .

Political rise

George Romney was a member of the Republican Party . In 1961 he was the head of a commission to revise the Michigan constitution. In 1962 he was nominated by his party as the top candidate for the upcoming gubernatorial election and then elected to this office by the voters.

Michigan governor

George Romney 1967 in Bonn with Gerhard Stoltenberg

George Romney took up his new office on January 1, 1963. Michigan experienced an economic boom during his tenure. Tax legislation was reformed and civil rights laws were introduced. In addition, a new constitution came into force, which, among other things, extended the terms of office of governors from two to four years. It was nationally significant that Romney stood against Barry Goldwater in 1964 together with other liberal Republicans and thus contributed to his failure as a presidential candidate; However, this could not stop the party's shift to the right permanently.

In 1967, Romney himself applied for his party's nomination as a presidential candidate. Due to some tactical mistakes and problematic statements (e.g. about an alleged " brainwashing " by the US military during a trip to Vietnam), but also because of the great support that the more conservative Richard Nixon enjoyed in his party, Romney was unable to achieve this goal to reach. Added to this were problems in Michigan when the governor couldn't deal with violent riots in Detroit on his own and President Lyndon B. Johnson had to send federal troops to calm the situation. His birth in Mexico also spoke against a candidacy, since he was not considered a natural born citizen . In February 1968, Romney withdrew his bid for the presidency. Nixon was nominated for the Republican presidential nomination in the summer and was elected US president in November 1968.

Another résumé

After Nixon took office as president, he appointed Romney as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in his cabinet. Then Romney resigned as governor on January 22, 1969. He remained a minister in Nixon's government until 1972. After that, Romney withdrew from politics. He continued to work for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). In 1994 he returned to the political stage when he supported the election campaign of his son Mitt, who at the time ran unsuccessfully against Edward Kennedy for a seat in the US Senate. George Romney died on July 26, 1995. He was married to Leonore LaFount, with whom he had four children, including the aforementioned son Mitt, who later became Governor of Massachusetts and - after an unsuccessful attempt in 2008 - a presidential candidate in August 2012 the Republican was elected.

literature

Robert Sobel and John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978. Volume 2, Meckler Books, Westport, 1978. 4 volumes.

Web links

Commons : George W. Romney - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

^ The LeBaron family in Mexico ... a history of conflict , The Yucatan Times, November 5, 2019
↑ LeBaron family, which lost relatives in Mexico attack, has had "run-ins" with cartels , CBS News, November 6, 2019
↑ Massacre of US citizens puts spotlight on Mormon community with deep roots in Mexico , Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, November 6, 2019

personal data
SURNAME	Romney, George W.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Romney, George Wilcken
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American politician
DATE OF BIRTH	July 8, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH	Colonia Dublán , Mexico
DATE OF DEATH	July 26, 1995
Place of death	Bloomfield Hills , Michigan

[1] The LeBaron family in Mexico ... a history of conflict , The Yucatan Times, November 5, 2019

[2] LeBaron family, which lost relatives in Mexico attack, has had "run-ins" with cartels , CBS News, November 6, 2019

[3] Massacre of US citizens puts spotlight on Mormon community with deep roots in Mexico , Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, November 6, 2019