Angus King

Angus King (2013)

Angus S. King (born March 31, 1944 in Alexandria , Virginia ) is an independent American politician . He was governor of the state of Maine from 1995 to 2003 . He has been a member of the Senate since 2012 .

Early years

Angus King graduated from Dartmouth College in 1966 and then studied law at the University of Virginia until 1969 . Between 1972 and 1975 he worked for US Senator William Dodd Hathaway and he was an advisor to a congressional committee dealing with alcohol and drug problems. From 1975 to 1983 he practiced as a lawyer. After that he was head of a company that sold energy-saving products until 1994.

Governor of Maine

King also made a name for himself as the host of a popular Maine television show. As a result, he gained a high profile, which in 1994 enabled him to run as an independent candidate for the office of governor and then to be elected. In the election he prevailed against the Democratic and Republican candidates. After James B. Longley , who served from 1975 to 1979, King was the second governor of Maine to be elected as an independent candidate to that office. During his tenure, he and Jesse Ventura , the governor of Minnesota , were the only US governors outside of either of the two major American parties.

Angus King took up his new office on January 5, 1995 and, after being re-elected in 1998, was able to remain in office until January 8, 2003. King made sure during his tenure that the state's middle schools were equipped with laptops for all students and teachers. The project initially met with resistance because of the high costs, but was then approved by the legislature and put into effect. Much more controversial was a bill according to which all persons who worked for or in schools should give their fingerprints to the state police. They should also be checked by the police for their past. This even affected the employees of contractors who worked for the schools. The governor wanted to prevent child abuse by such persons. His opponents held against him that such a problem from this group of people did not exist. Nationwide, 57 teachers resigned in protest against the law. Originally, those affected should also bear the costs of the measures. The Maine House of Representatives changed this part so that the costs were covered by the state.

After the end of his second term, King began a tour of the United States with his family. He visited 34 of the 50 states over the course of six months. Today King is involved in a project to use wind energy to generate electricity in Maine. Angus King is married to Mary Herman. The couple have five children.

senator

On March 5, 2012, King announced his intention to run for the United States Senate, running for the seat vacated by the departure of Olympia Snowe as an independent candidate. He prevailed successfully in the 2012 election against the Republican Charlie Summers and the Democrat Cynthia Dill. In his re-election in 2018 , he won against the Republican Eric Brakey and the Democrat Zak Ringelstein.

Web links

Commons : Angus King  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Web presence at the Congress (English)
• Angus King in the NGA

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Congressional election - Republicans defend majority in the House of Representatives. In: Spiegel Online of November 7, 2012, accessed November 7, 2012.
2. ↑ Maine election results 2012: Angus King elected to Senate; Obama declared winner. In: The Washington Post, November 7, 2012, accessed November 7, 2012.