Ben Nighthorse Campbell

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Ben Nighthorse Campbell

Ben Nighthorse Campbell (born April 13, 1933 in Auburn , California ) is a former American politician who represented the state of Colorado in both chambers of Congress . Campbell, who belongs to the Cheyenne people , was the second Native American in the United States Senate after Charles Curtis .

Early years and personal history

Ben Campbell's mother, Mary, had immigrated to the United States with her mother from Portugal at the age of six , where the family settled near Sacramento ; there was also a large Portuguese community there. Having suffered from tuberculosis as a teenager , she often had to seek treatment at a local hospital. There she met Albert Campbell during one of her stays: The Cheyenne man suffered from alcoholism and went through rehab there. They married in 1929; four years later their son Ben was born. He had an older sister named Alberta.

As the father's alcohol problems continued, which meant that he often left his family for long periods of time, and the mother was only allowed limited contact with her children due to her tuberculosis disease, Ben Campbell and his sister spent a large part of their youth in Catholics Orphanages. After graduating from Auburn High School , Campbell joined the Air Force in 1951 . He served in Asia during the Korean War and made it into second class Airman . Until he left in 1953, he received the Korean Service Medal and the Air Medal .

As a result, Campbell continued his education. In 1957 he received a Bachelor of Arts from San José State University ; then he had the opportunity to study at Meiji University in Tokyo , where he stayed from 1960 to 1964. Shortly before the end of his stay in the Japanese capital, he took part in the Summer Olympics as a judoka . In the open class, he took sixth place.

After returning to the United States, Campbell worked as a jewelery designer . After his first marriage was divorced, he married a schoolteacher from Colorado in 1966. The marriage had two children; Campbell is also a grandfather of four.

Political career

Ben Campbell delivering a speech on the occasion of the commissioning of the USS Mesa Verde warship (2007)

Campbell was politically active for the first time in 1983. In that year he moved as a Democrat to the Colorado House of Representatives , to which he was a member until 1986. After his victory over Republican incumbent Michael L. Strang in the 1986 congressional election , he became a member of the United States House of Representatives on January 3, 1987 , where he represented the third district of Colorado for six years . It was confirmed twice with more than 70 percent of the vote.

In 1992 Campbell successfully applied for the successor of the no longer running Democratic US Senator Tim Wirth . He took his seat on January 3, 1993 and belonged to the Democratic Senate parliamentary group until March 3, 1995. On that day he announced his move to the Republicans, as the second Democrat after Richard Shelby , who made his move to the Republican Party immediately after the 1994 mid-term elections. He was confirmed as their candidate in the 1998 election with a clear majority against Democrat Dottie Lamm. From 1997 to 2001 and from 2003 to 2005 he chaired the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs .

In March 2004, Campbell announced that he would not run for a third term. Instead, he signaled an interest in the office of governor of Colorado, but ultimately did not run for the 2006 election, which then won Bill Ritter of the Democrats. His Senate seat fell on January 3, 2005 to the Democrat Ken Salazar . Ben Campbell has since retired from federal politics; but he still functions as one of 44 members in the Council of Chiefs of the Cheyenne people.

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Commons : Ben Nighthorse Campbell  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Campbell, Ben Nighthorse
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH April 13, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH Auburn , California