Bob Graham | |
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 Official portrait, 1993 | |
| United States Senator fromFlorida | |
| In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Paula Hawkins |
| Succeeded by | Mel Martínez |
| Chair of theSenate Intelligence Committee | |
| In office June 6, 2001 – January 3, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Shelby |
| Succeeded by | Pat Roberts |
| 38thGovernor of Florida | |
| In office January 2, 1979 – January 3, 1987 | |
| Lieutenant | Wayne Mixson |
| Preceded by | Reubin Askew |
| Succeeded by | Wayne Mixson |
| Member of theFlorida Senate | |
| In office November 3, 1970 – November 7, 1978 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Stone |
| Succeeded by | John Hill |
| Constituency | 48th district (1970–1972) 33rd district (1972–1978) |
| Member of theFlorida House of Representatives | |
| In office November 8, 1966 – November 3, 1970 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Sherman S. Winn |
| Constituency | Dade County Group 16 (1966–1967) 105th district (1967–1970) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Daniel Robert Graham (1936-11-09)November 9, 1936 Coral Gables, Florida, U.S. |
| Died | April 16, 2024(2024-04-16) (aged 87) Gainesville, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4, includingGwen |
| Relatives | Ernest Graham (father) Phil Graham (half-brother) Katharine Graham (sister-in-law) Jimmy Carter (fourth cousin) |
| Education | University of Florida (BA) Harvard University (LLB) |
| Signature |  |
Daniel Robert Graham (November 9, 1936 – April 16, 2024) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 38thgovernor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and representedFlorida in theUnited States Senate from 1987 to 2005. He was a member of theDemocratic Party.
Born inCoral Gables, Florida, Graham won election to theFlorida House of Representatives after graduating fromHarvard Law School. After serving in both houses of theFlorida Legislature, Graham won the1978 Florida gubernatorial election, and was reelected in1982. In the1986 Senate elections, Graham defeated incumbentRepublican SenatorPaula Hawkins. He helped found theDemocratic Leadership Council and eventually became Chairman of theSenate Intelligence Committee. Graham ran for the2004 Democratic presidential nomination, but dropped out before the first primaries. He declined to seek reelection in 2004 and retired from the Senate.
Graham co-chaired theNational Commission on the BPDeepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. He was also a member of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission and the CIA External Advisory Board. He founded theBob Graham Center for Public Service at his undergraduate alma mater, theUniversity of Florida. He also served as Chairman of theCommission on the Prevention of WMD proliferation and terrorism. Through the WMD policy center he advocated for the recommendations in the Commission's report, "World at Risk".
Graham was born inCoral Gables, Florida, to Hilda Elizabeth (née Simmons), a schoolteacher, andErnest R. Graham, a Florida state senator, mining engineer, and dairy/cattleman.[1] He was the youngest of four children. His older half-brother,Phil Graham, was publisher and co-owner ofThe Washington Post. He marriedAdele Khoury, ofMiami Shores, in 1959. One of their daughters,Gwen Graham, was a U.S. Representative from Florida from 2015 to 2017. In 2021, Gwen was confirmed as Assistant Secretary of theUnited States Department of Education.[2]
Bob Graham attendedMiami Senior High School from 1952 to 1955; he was student body president his senior year. He was International Trustee of theKey Club, theKiwanis service organization. While at Miami High, Graham was the recipient of the Sigma Chi Award, the school's highest honor. He received a bachelor's degree in 1959 in political science from theUniversity of Florida, where he was a member of the Epsilon Zeta chapter ofSigma Nu fraternity and was inducted intoPhi Beta Kappa, the University of Florida Hall of Fame, andFlorida Blue Key.[3][4] He earned aBachelor of Laws fromHarvard Law School in 1962.[3]
Graham was elected to theFlorida Senate in 1970, fromDade County.Redistricted into a seat encompassing portions of northern Dade and southernBroward County, Graham was reelected to District 33 in 1972 and 1976.[3]
Graham's campaign trademark was to work full eight-hour days at various jobs representing Florida's constituents.[5] In 1974,[6] Graham was on the Education Committee when it traveled to local Florida jurisdictions. After a public meeting in Miami, a frustrated English teacher, M. Sue Riley, said to Graham, "The main problem with the Education Committee is no one has any experience in education." Taken aback, Graham responded, "Well, what can I do about that?" Riley then arranged for Graham to teach a semester ofcivics atMiami Carol City Senior High School. Three years later, Graham used his "workday" idea to kick-start his gubernatorial campaign. Throughout 1977 and into 1978, Graham conducted 100 workdays, including bellhop, tomato picker, and road construction paver. To stay legitimate, he worked an entire day, kept the press at a distance, and performed all aspects of the job. Graham performed more than 400 workdays during his political career.[7]
Graham was elected to the governorship of Florida in1978 after a seven-way Democratic primary race in which he initially placed second toRobert L. Shevin. His supporters at the time dubbed themselves "Graham crackers."[8]
In his first month as governor, Graham established a 22-memberFlorida Tax Commission, headed byLieutenant GovernorWayne Mixson, to recommend policy to "make taxes more fair". In January 1979, he appointedFlorida state senatorsBuddy MacKay andKenneth M. Myers;Florida state representativesGwen Margolis andCarl Ogden; businessmanPreston A. Wells Jr. and others to the commission.[9][10][11]
Graham emphasized education and focused on improving the state's public universities. In addition, Graham's administration focused on economic diversification and environmental policies. During his tenure as governor, the state added 1.2 million jobs, and for the first time in state history, Floridians'per capita income exceeded the U.S. average.[3]
Graham also launched the most extensive environmental protection program in Florida history, focused on preserving endangered lands. During his tenure, thousands of acres of threatened and environmentally important lands were brought into state ownership for permanent protection. His keystone accomplishment was the establishment of the Save the Everglades program, which has now been joined by the federal government in a commitment to restore theEverglades.[3]
Graham left the governorship with an 83% approval rating. According toThe New York Times, he was one of Florida's most popular politicians.[12]
Graham was elected to the U.S. Senate in1986, defeating incumbent SenatorPaula Hawkins, 55% to 45%.[13] He was reelected in1992 (overBill Grant, 66% to 34%)[14] and1998 (overCharlie Crist, 63% to 37%)[15] and chose not to seek reelection in2004. Upon retiring from the Senate in January 2005, Graham had served 38 consecutive years in public office.[3]
Graham served 10 years on theUnited States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which he chaired during and after9/11 and the run-up to theIraq war. He led thejoint congressional investigation into 9/11. As chair of the Intelligence Committee, Graham opposed the War in Iraq and was one of the 23 senators to vote against PresidentGeorge W. Bush's request for authorization of the use of military force. After meeting with military leaders in February 2002 and requesting and reviewing aNational Intelligence Estimate, he said he "felt we were being manipulated and that the result was going to distract us from where our real enemies were". He continued to oppose the Iraq War, saying in 2008: "I'm afraid I never wavered from my belief that this was a distraction that was going to come to a bad end in Iraq and an even worse end inAfghanistan".[16]
In 2004, Graham publishedIntelligence Matters: The CIA, the FBI, Saudi Arabia and the Failure of America's War on Terror.[3]
Graham had a well-known habit of meticulously logging his daily activities (some as mundane as when he ate a tuna sandwich or rewound a tape ofAce Ventura) on color-coded notebooks, whichSalon.com suggested in 2003 may have harmed his standing as a possible vice presidential candidate.[17] The notebooks are now housed at theUniversity of Florida library.[18]
Graham was considered as a Democratic nominee forVice President of the United States in 1988, 1992, 2000, and 2004.[19][20] He was a finalist onBill Clinton's shortlist of running mates in 1992, and was also considered byAl Gore in 2000.[21]
In December 2002, Graham announced his candidacy for President of the United States in the2004 election. However, he withdrew from the race in October 2003, several months after heart surgery, and retired from the Senate the following year.[3]
Graham spent the 2005–2006 academic year atHarvard University, where he was a fellow at theInstitute of Politics.[22] He and his wife lived among undergraduates inMather House for the year.[23] As a fellow, Graham taught a weekly study group about effective citizenship. During his time at Harvard, Graham began work on a book about effective citizenship, which would later becomeAmerica, the Owner's Manual. Later, he would credit his undergraduate assistants at Harvard, as well as professorsArchon Fung, David King, andRobert D. Putnam, as having helped him understand and conceive of the ideas that would become the book.[24]
After his year at Harvard, Graham focused on founding a center to train future political leaders at theUniversity of Florida, where he earned his bachelor's degree in political science in 1959.[25]
TheBob Graham Center for Public Service is housed within theCollege of Liberal Arts and Sciences at theUniversity of Florida. It provides students with opportunities to train for future leadership positions, and allows them to engage with policy makers and scholars in the university community. On February 9, 2008, The James and Alexis Pugh Hall, funded by longtime friends of the Graham family, was dedicated in the historic area of campus. Pugh Hall serves as the Center's home as well as the university's oral history and African and Asian languages programs.[26]
In 2009, Graham publishedAmerica, The Owner's Manual: Making Government Work for You, a book about inspiring and teaching citizens to effectively participate in democracy.[3] In 2016, Sen. Graham and co-author Chris Hand released an update toAmerica: The Owner's Manual, entitledAmerica, The Owner's Manual: You Can Fight City Hall — And Win.[27][28]
In the years after his retirement from the Senate, Graham published almost 70op-eds on state and national issues. He was also a member of theInter-American Dialogue, a think tank based inWashington, D.C.[29]
In 2011, Graham published his first novel, the thrillerThe Keys to the Kingdom.[30] He also wrote four nonfiction books,Workdays: Finding Florida on the Job,Intelligence Matters,World at Risk,[31] andAmerica: The Owner's Manual, and an illustrated children's book,Rhoda the Alligator.
Graham's health declined after a stroke in 2020.[3] On April 16, 2024, he died at a retirement community inGainesville, Florida, at the age of 87.[32] His body laid in state inFlorida's Historic Capitol before being buried in a private family service.[33]
On May 6, 2006, at the spring commencement for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, theUniversity of Florida awarded Graham an honorary doctorate, the Doctor of Public Service.[34]
On November 18, 2005, theFlorida Legislature renamed theSunshine Skyway Bridge, which was rebuilt during Graham's time as governor, the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge.[35]
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