Don Siegelman
Donald Eugene Siegelman (/ˈsiːɡəlmən/ SEE-gəl-mən; born February 24, 1946) is an American politician who was the 51st governor of Alabama from 1999 to 2003. A member of the Democratic Party, as of 2024, Siegelman is the most recent Democrat, as well as the only Catholic, to serve as Governor of Alabama.
Don Siegelman | |
|---|---|
| 51st Governor of Alabama | |
| In office January 18, 1999 – January 20, 2003 | |
| Lieutenant | Steve Windom |
| Preceded by | Fob James |
| Succeeded by | Bob Riley |
| 26th Lieutenant Governor of Alabama | |
| In office January 16, 1995 – January 18, 1999 | |
| Governor | Fob James |
| Preceded by | Jim Folsom |
| Succeeded by | Steve Windom |
| 43rd Attorney General of Alabama | |
| In office January 19, 1987 – January 21, 1991 | |
| Governor | Guy Hunt |
| Preceded by | Charles Graddick |
| Succeeded by | Jimmy Evans |
| 44th Secretary of State of Alabama | |
| In office January 15, 1979 – January 17, 1987 | |
| Governor | Fob James George Wallace |
| Preceded by | Agnes Baggett |
| Succeeded by | Glen Browder |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Donald Eugene Siegelman February 24, 1946 Mobile, Alabama, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Lori Allen (m. 1980) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of Alabama (BA) Georgetown University (JD) University of Oxford |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1968–1969 |
| Unit | Air National Guard |
Siegelman is the only person in Alabama's history to be elected to serve in all four of the top statewide elected offices: Secretary of State, Attorney General, Lieutenant Governor and Governor. He served in Alabama politics for 26 years.
In 2006, Siegelman was convicted on federal felony corruption charges and sentenced to seven years in federal prison. Following the trial, however, many questions were raised by both Democrats and Republicans about allegations of prosecutorial misconduct in his case. On March 6, 2009, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld key bribery, conspiracy and obstruction counts against Siegelman and refused his request for a new trial.
In October 2015, more than 100 former attorneys general and officials, both Democratic and Republican, contended that his prosecution was marred by prosecutorial misconduct; they have petitioned the United States Supreme Court to review the case. Siegelman was released from prison on February 8, 2017, and was on supervised probation until June 2019.