George Voinovich

George Voinovich (2006)

George Victor Voinovich (born July 15, 1936 in Cleveland , Ohio , † June 12, 2016 there ) was an American politician of the Republican Party . He was the 65th governor of Ohio from 1991 to 1998 and represented this state in the US Senate from 1999 to 2011 .

Early years and political advancement

George Voinovich attended Ohio University , where he attended law school until 1961. He was the Assistant Attorney General of Ohio in 1963 and 1964 . From 1967 to 1971 he was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives . He was then from 1971 to 1976 auditor (auditor) in Cuyahoga County . He then worked in 1977 and 1978 as a county commissioner in the county before he was elected lieutenant governor of Ohio. He resigned from this office in 1980 after being elected Mayor of Cleveland with 56 percent of the vote against Democrat Dennis Kucinich .

In 1988 Voinovich ran for the first time for the office of US Senator, but lost 43 percent of the vote to Howard Metzenbaum of the Democrats, who was able to unite 57 percent of the votes. It was the only election defeat in his political life.

In 1990 he resigned as mayor of Cleveland when he was elected as the new governor of his state by the Democrats with 56 percent of the vote as a Republican candidate against Anthony J. Celebrezze junior . He was the first governor of a US state of Serbian descent.

Governor of ohio

George Voinovich took up his new office on January 14, 1991. In November 1994 he was confirmed by the electorate. During his tenure, he was a member and chairman of several governors' associations. During his reign, Ohio's unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in 25 years. On the other hand, around 500,000 new jobs were created. At that time, Ohio was experiencing an economic boom that would last until 2001. According to the state constitution, Voinovich was not allowed to run again directly in 1998. Therefore, he applied for a seat in the United States Senate. After the successful election, he resigned from the governor's office on December 31, 1998, as his term in the Senate began on January 3, 1999, while that in the governor's office did not end until January 11. Lieutenant Governor Nancy Hollister took over the governorship for the remaining eleven days , before Bob Taft , who was also elected in November, became governor.

US Senator

From January 1999 Voinovich represented his state in the US Senate. In 2004 he was re-elected to this office. He advocated a troop withdrawal from Iraq . On January 3, 2011, he resigned from the Senate after declining to run again. According to a survey by the political magazine National Journal , he was the Senate member of his party with the most liberal voting behavior in 2010.

Voinovich was Chairman of the Ethics Committee from 2003-2007 .

Private life

George Voinovich was married to Janet Allan since 1962, with whom he had four children; the youngest died in a traffic accident at the age of nine.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Stephen Koff: George Voinovich, former Cleveland mayor, Ohio governor and US senator, dies . Cleveland.com, June 12, 2016
2. ↑ Peter Bell, Scott Bland, Ryan Morris: Toeing the Line: A historical look at NJ's vote ratings shows Senate centrists are in decline. NationalJournal, February 24, 2011, archived from the original on March 1, 2011 ; accessed on June 13, 2016 . 

Web links

Commons : George Voinovich  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• George Voinovich in the National Governors Association (English)
• George Voinovich in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Voinovich in the Ohio History Connection Archives