Jim McDermott

Jim McDermott

James Adelbert "Jim" McDermott (born December 28, 1936 in Chicago , Illinois ) is an American psychiatrist and politician of the Democratic Party .

Life

McDermott was born in Chicago and was the first member of his family to graduate from Wheaton College , Illinois, and then to the University of Illinois Medical School in Chicago, where he received a doctorate in medicine in 1963. In the years 1963 and 1964 he was at the hospital in Buffalo ( New York ) worked, then from 1964 to 1966 on research and teaching hospital of the University of Illinois . From 1966 to 1968 he conducted research on child psychiatry at the Medical Center of the University of Washington in Seattle . He worked as a psychiatrist in the Medical Corps of the United States Navy during the Vietnam War in California .

In 1970 he ran for political office for the first time and was elected to the Washington House of Representatives for the 43rd constituency. In 1974 he applied for the Senate of Washington and held this position after winning re-elections from 1974 to 1980. In the same year he won the Democratic primary for governor against his party rival Dixy Lee Ray , but was defeated in the election for governor the Republican John Spellman . From 1987 to 1989 he worked on behalf of the State Department as a doctor and psychiatrist for various American organizations active on official missions (including USAID , Peace Corps ) in Zaire, today's Democratic Republic of the Congo .

In the 1988 congressional election , McDermott was elected as his party's candidate for the US House of Representatives, where he took up his new mandate on January 3, 1989. He represented the 7th congressional constituency of Washington state and is the successor to Mike Lowry . Since he was re-elected in all subsequent elections, he was able to exercise his mandate until January 3, 2017. Since he was no longer running for another legislative term in 2016, he resigned from Congress that day. Between 1993 and 1995, McDermott chaired the ethics committee. Congress included the Committee on Ways and Means and the House Committee on the Budget. He was also a member of three Congressional Caucuses

On June 7, 2007, McDermott proposed a tax on online games that would, on the one hand, combat gambling addiction more effectively and, on the other hand, according to his statement on January 31, 2008, about $ 8-42 billion in taxes over the first ten years for the US - Household should be dropped.

McDermott can be seen in Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11 . In it, he describes how the Bush administration succeeded in exploiting American fears after September 11th .

In the song Depleted Uranium Is A War Crime by the American punk rock band Anti-Flag, you can hear excerpts from a speech by McDermott about depleted uranium .

Honors

On August 22, 2007 he was taken over by King Letsie III. appointed Knight by Lesotho . This recognized his efforts to introduce a law to promote Africa ( African Growth and Opportunity Act ), which greatly benefited Lesotho's economy.

Private life

Jim McDermott is a multimillionaire who has since been divorced twice.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Sheehan offers refuge to was deserted on August 11, 2006 , on seattlepi.nwsource.com, accessed June 6, 2008 (English).
2. ↑ McDermott sponsors Internet gambling tax legislation , Associated Press / Seattle Times , January 31, 2008, accessed June 6, 2008.
3. ↑ McDermott knighted by king of Lesotho from September 7, 2007 , on seattlepi.nwsource.com, accessed June 6, 2008 (English.).

Web links

Commons : Jim McDermott  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Biography on the website of the congress
• Jim McDermott in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Entry for James Adelbert "Jim" McDermott at votesmart.org (English)