Jay Rockefeller

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John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV (born June 18, 1937 in New York City ) is an American politician and belongs to the Democratic Party . He was the 29th governor of West Virginia from 1977 to 1985 . From 1985 to 2015 he represented this state in the US Senate .

Family and education

Rockefeller is the great-grandson of John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937), the legendary multimillionaire and then the richest man in the United States. He was born three weeks after his death. Jay Rockefeller studied the Japanese language and Far East studies at Harvard University until 1961 . He also attended International Christian University in Tokyo and Yale University , where he studied Chinese.

Rockefeller has been married to Sharon Percy, daughter of former Senator Charles H. Percy , since 1967 . He has four children with her. He was the last active politician in the Rockefeller family.

Political rise

In 1961 he worked under President John F. Kennedy in the Peace Corps in Washington . At that time he also became friends with the Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy . In 1964 he came to West Virginia. There he took part in the voluntary social project VISTA ( Volunteers Service to America ) and worked for a while in the social field. In 1966 he broke an old family tradition and joined the Democratic Party. In the same year he was elected to the West Virginia House of Representatives. Two years later he became Secretary of State in that state. His party nominated him in 1972 for the upcoming gubernatorial election. In the elections he was defeated by the Republican Arch A. Moore . He then became president of West Virginia Wesleyan College . In 1976 he was again his party's candidate for gubernatorial elections. This time he won against the former governor Cecil H. Underwood .

West Virginia Governor

Rockefeller's eight-year term, including re-election in 1980, began on January 17, 1977. His tenure was not a good one. An economic crisis led to the closure of many mines and factories and thus to a dramatic increase in unemployment. At times, 15 to 20 percent of West Virginia's employable people were unemployed. To make matters worse, there was a rising inflation rate, a protracted strike in the coal mining industry, floods and two particularly harsh winters. During his tenure, new government institutions emerged, such as the new Department of Health and the Department of Culture and History . Above all, Rockefeller had many new back roads built. In 1985, Arch Moore was elected governor for the third time. He was thus both the predecessor and the successor in office of Rockefeller.

US Senator

After the end of his tenure as governor, Rockefeller was elected to the US Senate. He took his seat there on January 15, 1985. Since then he has represented his state in Congress. Over the years he was a member of various committees such as B. the committee for the supervision of the secret services or the committee for dealing with war veterans and their problems. He was a member of a West Virginia trade delegation visiting Japan on a business trip. Rockefeller also campaigned for health reform. He was originally for the Iraq war but changed his mind in 2003. Since then he has been one of the greatest critics of the war and of President George W. Bush . As of 2009, Rockefeller served as chair of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation . In January 2013 he announced his decision not to run for the Senate in the next elections in 2014 ; he therefore left office on January 3, 2015. He then joined the Think Tank Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

Web links

Commons : Jay Rockefeller  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ashley Parker: Rockefeller Will Leave Senate After Five Terms. In: The New York Times . January 11, 2013 (English).
  2. ^ Megan R. Wilson: Rockefeller to Join Foreign Affairs Think Tank. In: The Hill . January 12, 2015.
personal data
SURNAME Rockefeller, Jay
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rockefeller, John D. IV (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH June 18, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City