Abraham A. Ribicoff

Abraham A. Ribicoff

Abraham Alexander Ribicoff (born April 9, 1910 in New Britain , Connecticut , †  February 22, 1998 in New York City ) was an American politician ( Democratic Party ). He belonged to the Cabinet of President John F. Kennedy as health, education and welfare minister to. He was also the governor and senator of the US state Connecticut.

Early years and political advancement

Ribicoff, son of Jewish immigrants, attended New York University between 1928 and 1929 , received a law degree in 1933 and graduated cum laude from the University of Chicago . A few years later he decided to embark on a political career. He ran for a seat in the House of Representatives from Connecticut in 1938 , where he remained after a successful election until 1942. He was also a judge at Hartford Municipal Court from 1941 to 1943 and from 1945 to 1947 . He was then a member of the US House of Representatives between 1949 and 1953 .

Governor and Minister

Ribicoff won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1954 and was elected governor of Connecticut a short time later. He was confirmed in 1958. During his tenure, he restructured the judicial system and eliminated an obsolete county government. He also endorsed an education and decent welfare program. On January 21, 1961, Ribicoff resigned from office to accept the appointment of Minister in the Kennedy Cabinet .

US Senator

He resigned from this post in 1962 to run for the US Senate , to which he was also elected. In 1968 and 1974 he was re-elected. During his tenure, he chaired the Committee on Government Operations and the Committee on Governmental Affairs . At the Democratic National Convention in 1968 he supported George McGovern's candidacy and in his speech attacked the Chicago police, and thus Mayor Richard J. Daley , accusing them of Gestapo methods.

After a brilliant career in the Senate, he retired due to his poor health. Abraham Ribicoff died in New York in February 1998 and was buried in Cornwall , Connecticut. He was married to Ruth Siegel. The couple had two children together.

literature

• Robert Sobel and John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978. Volume 1, Meckler Books, Westport, 1978. 4 volumes.
• Ribicoff, Abraham in American National Biography , American Council of Learned Societies, 2000.

Web links

• Abraham A. Ribicoff at the National Governors Association (English)
• History Central (English)
• Abraham A. Ribicoff in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Abraham A. Ribicoff the Miller Center of Public Affairs of the University of Virginia (English)
• Abraham A. Ribicoff in the database of Find a Grave (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ MSNBC: Those golden moments from past conventions (English).