Jim Wright

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Jim Wright

James Claude "Jim" Wright, Jr. (* 22. December 1922 in Fort Worth , Texas ; † 6. May 2015 ) was an American politician of the Democratic Party and a deputy in the United States House of Representatives . From 1987 to 1989 he was Speaker of the House of Representatives . Wright is known as the namesake for the Wright Amendment , a US federal law that regulated commercial air travel in Texas in favor of Dallas / Fort Worth Airport .

Life

Wright attended public schools in Fort Worth and Dallas, and studied at Weatherford College and the University of Texas at Austin . December 1941 he was enlisted by the United States Army Air Forces and served since 1942 as a bombardier with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service in the South Pacific during World War II . Wright published his memories of combat missions in his book The Flying Circus - 1943 - As Seen Through A Bombsight .

After the war, he settled in Weatherford and set up a consultancy for trade shows. At the same time he joined the Democratic Party . He won his first election in 1946 when he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives. He was Mayor of Weatherford from 1950 to 1954.

politics

Wright was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1954 for the 12th constituency in Texas, which includes Weatherford and Fort Worth . He was re-elected fourteen times. From 1979 to 1987 he was majority leader in the House of Representatives, in 1988 he was chairman of the Democratic National Convention . During his tenure in Congress, he refused to sign the Southern Manifesto , which spoke out against racial integration in public institutions.

In 1989, the House Ethics Committee investigated allegations that Wright violated the rules on gifts. The committee's report concluded that Wright had received improper lecture fees as a result of his book Reflections of a Public Man . The report also revealed that Wright's wife had been hired to circumvent Wright's rules. As a result, Wright resigned as spokesman on May 31, 1989, and served on a provisional basis until the House of Representatives elected Tom Foley to succeed him on June 6 . Wright also resigned from the House of Representatives on June 30th.

After his resignation, Wright withdrew from politics. He last lived in Fort Worth and taught the Congress and the Presidents course at Texas Christian University as a visiting professor .

Publications

  • Jim Wright, Balance of Power: Presidents and Congress from the Era of McCarthy to the Age of Gingrich . Turner Publications, Atlanta, Georgia 1996, ISBN 1-57036-278-5 .
  • Jim Wright: Reflections of a Public Man . Madison Publishing Company, Fort Worth, Texas 1984.
  • Jim Wright: The Flying Circus - 1943 - As Seen Through A Bombsight . The Lyons Press, Guilford, Connecticut 2005, ISBN 1-59228-656-9 .

literature

  • Brooks Flippen: Speaker Jim Wright: Power, Scandal, and the Birth of Modern Politics. University of Texas, Austin 2018, ISBN 978-1-4773-1514-9 .

Web links

Commons : Jim Wright  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
personal data
SURNAME Wright, Jim
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wright, James Claude Jr.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH December 22, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Fort Worth , Texas
DATE OF DEATH May 6, 2015
Place of death Fort Worth , Texas