Fred Thompson

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fred Thompson (2007)

Freddie "Fred" Dalton Thompson (born August 19, 1942 in Sheffield , Alabama , † November 1, 2015 in Nashville , Tennessee ) was an American film actor and politician . From 1994 to 2003 he was a US Senator for the state of Tennessee. In 2008 he ran for the Republican Party's nomination for the presidential election .

Life

Fred Thompson studied philosophy and political science at the University of Memphis . In 1967 he graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School. He later worked for the public prosecutor .

Career in politics

Fred Thompson

From 1973-1974 Thompson was the responsible legal counsel (chief counsel) of the Republican members of the so-called Ervin - Committee of the US Senate that the Watergate affair should enlighten. In this role, Thompson earned respect by not shying away from a critical examination of Republican President Richard Nixon's involvement in the proceedings, but also by addressing the possible prior knowledge of the Democrats about the Watergate break-in of June 17, 1972 during the interviews . Thompson published a book in 1975 called At that point in time , which summarized his experiences and observations on the Watergate Investigations.

In 1994 he was elected to the Senate for the Republican Party as representative of the state of Tennessee and re-elected in 1996. In 2002 he did not stand for election again. Even after retiring from active politics, he continued to appear as an advisor to the Republican Party and as a commentator on political developments. In 2005 he received an informal assignment from President George W. Bush to assist Judge John Roberts , Bush's candidate for the Supreme Court , as an advisor in the parliamentary process of Senate confirmation.

Thompson also worked for the American Enterprise Institute , where he studies national security and foreign policy. He also appeared as a political expert for a program on ABC News Radio . In March 2007, Thompson told the American television station FOX that he would be actively involved in the 2008 presidential candidacy for the Republican Party itself.

2008 presidential candidacy

On June 1, 2007, Fred Thompson announced the formation of an "exploratory committee," which was the preliminary stage of an official declaration on running for the 2008 presidential primaries. An election donation balance that remained below expectations (3.5 million instead of the expected 5 million US dollars) and turbulence within his advisory team in July 2007 initially called the prospects of Thompson's candidacy into question again, despite good poll numbers. On September 6, 2007, Thompson officially announced his candidacy for the 2008 presidential election.

In the first primary election in the state of Iowa on January 3, 2008, Thompson received 13.4% of the vote, ranking third among the Republican presidential candidates. After a disappointing third place in the South Carolina primary on January 20, 2008 (with 16% of the vote), he officially withdrew his candidacy on January 22, 2008.

Political positions

  • Thompson advocated strong federalism .
  • He spoke out in favor of direct election of the president as part of the National Popular Vote initiative.
  • He rejected abortion and gay marriage .
  • Thompson was in favor of private gun ownership and opposed stricter controls.
  • He supported the death penalty and also the Iraq war .
  • Thompson advocated strict expulsion of illegal immigrants. He also wanted to ensure that the employment of illegal immigrants is criminalized. Thompson also supported the call for stricter controls on the border with Mexico.
  • On economic issues, Thompson took liberal positions (in the US: Fiscal Conservative): In an interview with the Wall Street Journal , Thompson said that, in his opinion, low taxes lead to more prosperity, investment and economic growth. He also supported free trade .
  • In terms of the tax system, Thompson preferred the flat tax to the progressive income tax . According to his plans, people living alone who earn up to $ 50,000 per year would have to pay 10% income tax, and families up to an income of $ 100,000. For higher incomes, the tax would increase to 25%.
  • Thompson advocated the privatization of social security .
  • In education policy, Thompson advocated the education voucher model . This supports parents' freedom of choice, regardless of whether they send their children to a private or public school. Thompson also found support for private lessons at home, which are also financed by the education voucher.
  • Thompson doubted that humanity was responsible for climate change. He rejected the Kyoto Protocol and the signing of a successor protocol after it had expired.

Film and television appearances

Thompson made his acting debut in 1987 with Kevin Costner in the thriller No Way Out ; previously he had already appeared in the 1985 film Marie alongside Sissy Spacek , in which he played himself.

Thompson then appeared in both films and television series. In the hit series Law & Order , he played the Republican District Attorney Arthur Branch since 2002. For this role he was nominated in 2004 for a Screen Actors Guild Award . During the time of his presidential candidacy, he interrupted his work on the series.

Private

Thompson was married to Sarah Elizabeth Lindsey from 1959 to 1985, with whom he had three children. From 2002 to 2015 he was married to Jeri Kehn, with whom he had two children.

Filmography (selection)

Publications

  • Fred D. Thompson: At that Point in Time. The Inside Story of the Senate Watergate Committee . Quadrangle, New York 1975.

literature

Web links

Commons : Fred Thompson  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tom Humphrey: Fred, Freddie - he's still FD Thompson. In: Knoxville News , September 7, 2007.
  2. ↑ Dave Boucher and Joey Garrison: Former US Sen. Fred Thompson dies at 73. In: tennessean.com , November 2, 2015, accessed November 2, 2015.
  3. ↑ Kate Phillips: Fred Thompson Considers Running. In: thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com . The New York Times , March 11, 2007 (English).
  4. ^ Susan Saulny: Thompson's Race Hasn't Quite Begun, but Turmoil Has. In: The New York Times , July 28, 2007.
  5. ^ Fred Thompson, Chet Culver, and Jim Edgar Endorse National Popular Vote Bill. (No longer available online.) In: nationalpopularvote.com. May 12, 2011, archived from the original on September 6, 2015 ; accessed on November 2, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nationalpopularvote.com
personal data
SURNAME Thompson, Fred
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Thompson, Fred Dalton; Thompson, Freddie Dalton (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American film actor and politician
DATE OF BIRTH August 19, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Sheffield , Alabama , United States
DATE OF DEATH November 1, 2015
Place of death Nashville , Tennessee , United States