Bruce Babbitt

Bruce Babbitt

Bruce Edward Babbitt (born June 27, 1938 in Flagstaff , Arizona ) is a former American politician ( Democratic Party ). He was governor of the state of Arizona from 1978 to 1987 and from 1993 to 2001 US Secretary of the Interior in the Clinton Cabinet .

Career

Babbitt was at the University of Notre Dame an undergraduate degree , at Newcastle University in England a master and then at Harvard University his Law Degree . After graduating, he worked as a lawyer for the Department of Justice in Washington, DC . In 1967 he returned to Arizona where he joined a law firm in Phoenix . A few years later, he was elected Attorney General of his state in 1974.

When Arizona Governor Wesley Bolin passed away in 1978, Babbitt succeeded him in office. He was officially elected for a four-year term in 1978 and re-elected in 1982. Babbitt ran for the Democratic nomination for US President in 1988 . However, after getting poor results in the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries , he withdrew from the race. Michael Dukakis , who in turn was defeated by the Republican George Bush , became a democratic candidate .

Babbitt has served in many ecological associations and has received several awards from national environmental groups. President Bill Clinton then named him Secretary of the Interior of the United States in 1993. He held this post for eight years, that is, during Clinton's entire presidency. After ending his political career, he joined the Los Angeles- based law firm Latham & Watkins .

He is married to Harriet Coons. The couple have two children together.

literature

• Bruce Babbitt , in: Internationales Biographisches Archiv 31/2001 of July 23, 2001, in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely accessible)

Web links

• Bruce Babbitt in the National Governors Association (English)
• Bruce Babbitt in the nndb (English)
• Bruce Babbitt in the Miller Center of Public Affairs of the University of Virginia (English)