Paul Coverdell

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Paul Coverdell (1990s)

Paul Douglas Coverdell (* 20th January 1939 in Des Moines , Iowa ; † 18th July 2000 in Atlanta , Georgia ) was an American politician of the Republican Party . From 1993 until his death he was a member of the US Senate for the US state of Georgia .

biography

Coverdell was born in Des Moines, Iowa. He spent much of his childhood in the American Midwest . He attended high school at Lee's Summit , Missouri . A journalism studies he finished 1961 successfully at the University of Missouri . In 1962 he went to the United States Army to do his military service. He was stationed in Japan and South Korea , among others . In 1964 he was honorably discharged. He settled in Atlanta and started a private insurance brokerage with his father.

He first appeared politically in 1968 when he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Georgia Senate . In 1970 his renewed candidacy was successful. From 1974 he was leader of the minority faction ( Senate Minority Leader ). Overall, he remained in the State Senate until 1989. In 1977 Coverdell lost to his future Senate predecessor, Wyche Fowler, in a by-election for Andrew Young's seat in the US House of Representatives . Then Coverdell was heavily involved in the Republican Party. For example, he raised funds to give candidates a good financial basis. From 1985 Coverdell was chairman of the Republican Party in Georgia. In 1978 he first met George Bush . From then on both of them had a deep friendship. Coverdell supported Bush in his presidential candidacy. In return, Bush appointed Coverdell as director of the Peace Corps after he took office in 1989 .

On May 2, 1989, he took the oath of office as Director of the Peace Corps in President Bush's Oval Office . Upon taking office, he retired from the company and the Georgia Senate. Shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall , Coverdell sent volunteers to Eastern Europe. On June 15, 1990, President Bush attended a passing ceremony for volunteers to be deployed in Poland and Hungary . In 1991, Coverdell resigned as director of the Peace Corps in preparation for running for the seat of US Senator Wyche Fowler. After his resignation, allegations were raised that Coverdell had abused his position to recommend himself for higher tasks.

In the Republican primaries, he had to prevail against four candidates, which he succeeded after a head-to-head race. His lead over the second was just 1,600 votes. In the main election in November 1992 Coverdell was initially defeated by Fowler. Due to the fact that Fowler had not received an absolute majority either, a runoff between Fowler and Coverdell was necessary, which Coverdell was then able to win somewhat surprisingly. He was the second Republican to be elected to the Senate after the Reconstruction for his state.

During his tenure, Coverdell served on the following committees: United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations , United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry , United States Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and the United States Senate Committee on Finance . In 1998 Coverdell was re-elected. He was the first Republican in Georgia history to do so. Finally, Coverdell supported George W. Bush in his candidacy for US President.

In July 2000 Coverdell traveled to his homeland to give some speeches. He complained of a headache. On July 17, 2000, he was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with a stroke . In the early evening of July 18, Coverdell died of complications from the stroke. Almost 1,000 mourners attended the funeral service, including George W. Bush, who interrupted his campaign tour for the celebrations. His political estate was transferred to Georgia State University . The headquarters of the Peace Corps was named after him, as was an administrative building of the Georgia Senate.

Coverdell was married.

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personal data
SURNAME Coverdell, Paul
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Coverdell, Paul Douglas (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician (Republican Party)
DATE OF BIRTH January 20, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH Des Moines , Iowa
DATE OF DEATH July 18, 2000
Place of death Atlanta , Georgia