George Firestone

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
George Firestone

George Firestone (* 13. May 1931 in New York City ; † 2 March 2012 in Hollywood , California ) was an American businessman and politician of the Democratic Party , of both the House of Representatives as the Senate of Florida belonged as a member, and between 1978 and 1987 as Secretary of State held the third most important function in the government of this US state .

Life

Firestone spent the first few years of his life in New York City and then moved with his parents to Miami in 1936 , where his mother worked as a waitress in a restaurant and he accompanied them to work. After attending school, he did his military service as a cook in the US Army until 1952 . He then returned to Miami and opened a security service and a cleaning company there.

In 1966, Firestone was elected as a candidate for the Democratic Party for the first time as a member of the Florida House of Representatives and represented the interests of the Miami-Dade County constituency until 1972, when he was subsequently a member of the Florida Senate until 1978.

In 1978 he became Secretary of State of Florida, taking on the third most important role in the state government after Governors Reubin Askew and Bob Graham and the Lieutenant Governor . During his tenure, he advocated strengthening foreign trade , in particular by promoting free trade zones . In addition, he was involved in this role for the arts and culture of the state. After Firestone resigned in disappointment with the development of politics, Bruce Smathers succeeded as Secretary of State in 1987. Nova Southeastern University awarded him an honorary doctorate for his longstanding commitment .

He then worked for the investment company Smith Barney before founding the management consultancy Tecton . He also organized this internationally and undertook numerous business trips to Australia , China and Russia .

Firestone died in an assisted living facility in Hollywood of complications from Alzheimer's disease .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Firestone, George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician, Secretary of State of Florida
DATE OF BIRTH May 13, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH March 2, 2012
Place of death Hollywood , California