Wayne Owens

Wayne Owens (right) with U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (1989)

Douglas Wayne Owens (born May 2, 1937 in Panguitch , Utah , † December 18, 2002 in Tel Aviv , Israel ) was an American politician . Between 1973 and 1975 and between 1987 and 1993 he represented the second constituency of the state of Utah in the US House of Representatives .

Early years

Wayne Owens attended public schools in his home country. In 1955 he graduated from Panguitch High School . He then studied from 1955 to 1957 and again from 1960 to 1961 at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City . After studying law, which he also completed at this university, Owens made his law degree in 1964. He had interrupted his studies between 1957 and 1960 to do missionary work for his Mormon Church in France . After his admission as a lawyer, he worked in this profession.

Political career

Owens became a member of the Democratic Party . In the following years and decades he worked for the US Senators Frank Moss from Utah, Robert F. Kennedy from New York and Edward Kennedy , his brother, from Massachusetts . In 1968 and 1980 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions . During these years he was also the campaign manager of the presidential campaigns of Robert and later Edward Kennedy in the western states.

In 1972 Wayne Owens was elected to the US House of Representatives, defeating Republican incumbent Sherman P. Lloyd with 55% of the vote. This allowed him to complete a legislative term in Congress between January 3, 1973 and January 3, 1975 . In the 1974 elections, he decided not to run again. Instead, he ran unsuccessfully for the US Senate .

Between 1975 and 1978 Owens was the head of the Mormon Mission in Montreal . He then worked as a lawyer in Salt Lake City. In 1984 he ran unsuccessfully for governor of Utah; he was defeated by the Republican Norman H. Bangerter . In the congressional elections of 1986 he managed to return to the US House of Representatives, where he replaced David Smith Monson on January 3, 1987 . After a few re-elections, he was able to exercise his mandate until January 3, 1993. In 1992, he did not apply for another term. Instead, he ran again for the US Senate. Like that of 1974, this candidacy was unsuccessful.

Another résumé

After leaving Congress, Owens partially withdrew from politics. However, he continued to follow political developments. During his time as a politician, Owens was an environmental advocate. He also supported the Central Utah Project , which aimed to improve the water supply in the central region of the state. At the time he was against the Vietnam War and advocated a peaceful solution in the Middle East. For this purpose he founded the Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation . Wayne Owens died on December 18, 2002 in Tel Aviv while traveling to the Middle East to pursue further peace talks. He was married to Marlene Wessel, whom he had met in the late 1950s during his missionary work in France.

Web links

• Wayne Owens in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Wayne Owens in the database of Find a Grave (English)