George J. Mitchell
George John Mitchell Jr. (born August 20, 1933) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. A leading member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from Maine from 1980 to 1995, and as Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995. After retiring from the Senate, Mitchell played a leading role in negotiations for peace in Northern Ireland and the Middle East. He was appointed United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland (1995–2001) by President Clinton and as United States Special Envoy for Middle East Peace (2009–2011) by President Barack Obama.
George Mitchell | |
|---|---|
Mitchell in 1980 | |
| United States Special Envoy for Middle East Peace | |
| In office January 22, 2009 – May 13, 2011 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Anthony Zinni (2003) |
| Succeeded by | David Hale |
| Vice Chair of the 9/11 Commission | |
| In office November 27, 2002 – December 11, 2002 | |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Lee Hamilton |
| 8th Chancellor of the Queen's University, Belfast | |
| In office May 5, 1999 – March 29, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | David Orr |
| Succeeded by | Kamalesh Sharma |
| United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland | |
| In office January 3, 1995 – January 20, 2001 | |
| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Richard N. Haass |
| Senate Majority Leader | |
| In office January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1995 | |
| Deputy | Alan Cranston Wendell Ford |
| Preceded by | Robert Byrd |
| Succeeded by | Bob Dole |
| Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus | |
| In office January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1995 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Byrd |
| Succeeded by | Tom Daschle |
| Deputy President pro tempore of the United States Senate | |
| In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1989 | |
| President | John C. Stennis |
| Preceded by | Hubert Humphrey (1978) |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| United States Senator from Maine | |
| In office May 17, 1980 – January 3, 1995 | |
| Preceded by | Edmund Muskie |
| Succeeded by | Olympia Snowe |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maine | |
| In office October 5, 1979 – May 16, 1980 | |
| Appointed by | Jimmy Carter |
| Preceded by | Seat established |
| Succeeded by | Conrad K. Cyr |
| United States Attorney for the District of Maine | |
| In office 1977–1979 | |
| President | Jimmy Carter |
| Preceded by | S. Peter Mills Jr. |
| Succeeded by | James Brannigan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | George John Mitchell Jr. August 20, 1933 Waterville, Maine, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | Sally Heath
(m. 1961; div. 1987)Heather MacLachlan (m. 1994) |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Bowdoin College (BA) Georgetown University (LLB) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1954–1956 |
| Rank | First Lieutenant |
| Unit | Counterintelligence Corps |
Mitchell was a primary architect of the 1996 Mitchell Principles and the 1998 Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, and was the main investigator in two "Mitchell Reports": one on the Arab–Israeli conflict (2001); and one on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball (2007).
Mitchell served as chairman of the Walt Disney Company from 2004 until 2007, and later as chairman of the international law firm DLA Piper. He was the Chancellor of Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from 1999 to 2009. Mitchell also has served as a co-chair of the Housing Commission at the Bipartisan Policy Center. He is one of the few people in modern times to have served in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the federal government.