Edmund Muskie

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Edmund "Ed" Sixtus Muskie (born March 28, 1914 in Rumford , Maine , † March 26, 1996 in Washington, DC ) was an American politician from the state of Maine. He served as Maine Governor , Senator and Secretary of State of the United States ; He also ran for the office of US Vice President in 1968 .

Early years and political advancement

Edmund Muskie came from a Polish- American family and was the second of six children. His father Stephen Marciszewski immigrated to the USA in 1903, where he worked as a tailor and in 1914, before the birth of his second son, changed his family name to Muskie ; his mother Josephine Czarnecka was a housewife. Muskie graduated from Bates College in 1936 and Cornell University Law School in 1939 . During the Second World War he served in the US Navy . After the war, he joined the Democratic Party in the traditionally republican state of Maine. Between 1946 and 1952 he was an MP in the Maine House of Representatives . From 1952 to 1956 he was a member of the Democratic National Committee . In 1954 he was elected the new governor of Maine against Republican incumbent Burton M. Cross .

Governor of Maine

Muskie took up his new post on January 5, 1955. After re-election in 1956, he was able to serve until January 2, 1959. During this time, the state's school policy was improved by a larger budget. The same was true of healthcare. The Ministry of Trade and Industry was also established at that time. The expansion of the road construction was driven by the sale of government bonds in the amount of 25 million dollars. Sales tax was increased by one percent and the term of office of Maine governors was extended from two to four years. After his election to the US Senate , Muskie resigned on January 2, 1959. That was exactly five days before the actual end of his term of office. That void had to be bridged by Robert Haskell , President of the Maine Senate , who ended Muskie's tenure.

Senator, presidential candidate and foreign minister

Edmund Muskie (right) with President Ronald Reagan (center) and Senator John Tower , 1987

In 1958, Muskie won the election against Republican Frederick G. Payne and became a US Senator. He was re-elected in 1964, 1970 and 1976. Thus he represented his state in Congress between 1959 and 1980 .

In 1968 he was the Democratic candidate for the American Vice Presidency at the side of Hubert H. Humphrey . Since this year's elections were won by the Republican Richard Nixon , this candidacy was unsuccessful. In 1972 an application for the US presidency failed in the primaries . The reason for this were acts of sabotage (called "rat fucking") by Donald Segretti, who was involved in the Watergate affair . Its high point was a forged letter from Democratic candidate Muskie (with his letterhead) sent to journalists and congressmen with tales of lies. They first had to be denied with difficulty. Another fake letter was tampered with as if Muskie was using the Canucks curse word to his French-Canadian voters . Further manipulation discredited Muskie's staff. When Muskie tried to put things right at an election rally, his nerves failed and he burst into tears in public. With that, Muskie's candidacy was over.

Muskie served as Secretary of State from May 8, 1980 to January 18, 1981 under President Jimmy Carter . In the cabinet he succeeded Cyrus Vance ; after Carter's electoral defeat by Ronald Reagan , he too left the government. Edmund Muskie died on March 26, 1996. He was married to Jane Gray, with whom he had five children.

Honors

In 1969 Muskie was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

literature

  • Robert F. Gorman: Edmund Muskie. In: Edward S. Mihalkanin (Ed.): American Statesmen: Secretaries of State from John Jay to Colin Powell . Greenwood Publishing 2004, ISBN 978-0-313-30828-4 , pp. 389-392.

Web links

Commons : Edmund Muskie  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Magic Fluid , article from June 7, 1999 by Marco Evers on Spiegel Online
  2. ↑ Edmund Muskie - the new American Secretary of State , article of May 9, 1980 by Ulrich Schiller on Zeit Online
  3. ^ American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Book of Members ( PDF ). Retrieved April 18, 2016
personal data
SURNAME Muskie, Edmund
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Muskie, Edmund Sixtus; Marcizewski
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH March 28, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Rumford , Maine
DATE OF DEATH March 26, 1996
Place of death Washington, DC