John Engler | |
|---|---|
 Engler in 2016 | |
| President ofMichigan State University | |
Acting | |
| In office January 31, 2018 – January 17, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Lou Anna Simon |
| Succeeded by | Satish Udpa (acting) |
| 46thGovernor of Michigan | |
| In office January 1, 1991 – January 1, 2003 | |
| Lieutenant | Connie Binsfeld Dick Posthumus |
| Preceded by | James J. Blanchard |
| Succeeded by | Jennifer Granholm |
| Chair of theNational Governors Association | |
| In office August 7, 2001 – July 16, 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Parris Glendening |
| Succeeded by | Paul Patton |
| 9thMajority Leader of the Michigan Senate | |
| In office 1984–1990 | |
| Preceded by | William Faust |
| Succeeded by | Dick Posthumus |
| Member of theMichigan Senate | |
| In office January 1, 1979 – December 31, 1990 | |
| Preceded by | John Toepp |
| Succeeded by | Joanne G. Emmons |
| Constituency | 36th district (1979–1982) 35th district (1983–1990) |
| Member of theMichigan House of Representatives | |
| In office January 1, 1971 – December 31, 1978 | |
| Preceded by | Russell Strange |
| Succeeded by | Gary L. Randall |
| Constituency | 100th district (1971–1972) 89th district (1973–1978) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Mathias Engler (1948-10-12)October 12, 1948 (age 76) Mount Pleasant, Michigan, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | |
John Mathias Engler (born October 12, 1948)[1] is an American politician, lawyer, businessman, and lobbyist who served as the 46thgovernor of Michigan from 1991 to 2003. Considered one of the country's top lobbyists,[2] he is a member of theRepublican Party.
Engler was serving in the Michigan Senate when he enrolled atThomas M. Cooley Law School and graduated with aJuris Doctor degree, having served as aMichigan State senator since 1979. He was elected Senate majority leader in 1984 and served there until being elected governor in1990. He was reelected in1994 and1998, and is the last Michigan governor to serve more than two terms. After his governorship, he worked forBusiness Roundtable.
Engler served on the board of advisors of theRussell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal, an educational organization that continues the intellectual legacy of noted conservative and Michigan nativeRussell Kirk. Engler also served on the board of trustees of the Marguerite Eyer Wilbur Foundation, which funds many Kirk Center programs. Engler was a member of theAnnie E. Casey Foundation board of trustees until 2014. As of 2018, he serves on the board of directors ofUniversal Forest Products. Previous board service included serving as a director ofDow Jones andDelta Air Lines and as a trustee of Munder Funds.[3][4]
Engler, aRoman Catholic,[5] was born inMount Pleasant, Michigan, on October 12, 1948, to Mathias John Engler and his wife, Agnes Marie (née Neyer), but grew up on a cattle farm nearBeal City.
He attendedMichigan State University, graduating with a degree inagricultural economics in 1971, andThomas M. Cooley Law School, graduating with aDoctor of Jurisprudence degree in 1981.
He was elected to theMichigan House of Representatives as a state representative in 1970 at the age of 22. He served in the House from 1971 to 1978. His campaign manager in that first election was a college friend,Dick Posthumus. Engler later became the first Republican youth vice-chair for the Michigan Republican Party, defeating future U.S. SenatorSpencer Abraham. Posthumus later went on to be elected a state senator, Senate Majority Leader and Lieutenant Governor. He was Engler's running mate in the 1998 election and served from 1999 to 2003.[6]
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Engler's administration was characterized byprivatization of state services, income tax reduction, a sales tax increase, educational reform, welfare reform, and major reorganization ofexecutive branch departments.
In 1996, he was elected chairman of theRepublican Governors Association,[7] and in 2001, he was elected to head the National Governors Association.[8]
In 2002, near the end of his final term, Engler and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality attempted to negotiate a consent order withDow Chemical that would have resulted in a ninefold increase in the allowable levels of dioxins. The consent order would have resulted in Dow not having to pay to clean up high levels of toxins inMidland, Michigan, near its plant there, as well as in theTittabawassee flood plain, which had been contaminated by dioxins dumped into the river from the facility and from overflow from waste ponds.[9][10] The consent order fell through in late 2002.[9]
During the1996 presidential election, Engler was considered to be a potential vice presidential running mate for Republican nomineeBob Dole.[11] However, Dole instead selectedJack Kemp, a former representative andHUD secretary.
Engler endorsed Texas GovernorGeorge W. Bush in the 2000 Republican primary. After Bush secured the GOP nomination, Engler's name was again floated as a possible running mate.[12] In his bookDecision Points, Bush says that Engler was someone he was "close" with and could "work well with." Ultimately, Engler was passed over for the running mate position in favor ofDick Cheney. After the election, Engler's close political allySpencer Abraham, who narrowly lost his re-election bid for the Senate toDebbie Stabenow, was chosen as Bush's Secretary of Energy.
Engler's lieutenant governor,Dick Posthumus, sought to succeed Engler in the 2002 gubernatorial race. Posthumus lost the race to the state's attorney general, DemocratJennifer Granholm.
In 1990, Engler, then the state senate majority leader, challenged GovernorJames Blanchard in his bid for a third term. Political observers viewed his bid as a long shot, and he trailed Blanchard by double digits in the polls the weekend before the election. However, on election day, Engler pulled off the upset, defeating Blanchard by approximately 17,000 votes—a margin of less than one percentage point.[13][14] In 1994, Engler ran for his second term. The Democrats nominated former RepresentativeHoward Wolpe, who had close ties to the labor movement—a potent force in Democratic politics in Michigan. Engler bested Wolpe 61 to 39 percent, and the state Republican Party made significant gains.Spencer Abraham picked up the Senate seat of retiring DemocratDonald Riegle. Republicans gained a seat to break a tie in the state House of Representatives, taking a 56–54 majority, while also picking up a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. RepublicanCandice Miller won an upset victory to win the post of Secretary of State.[citation needed]
Michigan voters re-elected Engler to his third and final term in 1998. He won a landslide victory over lawyerGeoffrey Fieger. Engler took 1,883,005 votes—62 percent of the total—to Fieger's 38 percent and 1,143,574 votes. Engler's landslide helped the state Republican Party gain six seats in the state House of Representatives, taking control of the chamber they had lost two years previously with a 58–52 margin, as well as picking up an additional seat in the State Senate, for a 23–15 majority. Republicans also gained a seat on the technically non-partisan state Supreme Court, holding a 4–3 majority over the Democrats.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Engler | 1,287,320 | 49.8 | +18.4 | |
| Democratic | James Blanchard (incumbent) | 1,276,134 | 49.1 | −19.0 | |
| Workers World | William Roundtree | 28,091 | 1.1 | +0.7 | |
| Write-ins | Write-ins | 1,799 | 0.1 | 0.0 | |
| Majority | 17,595 | 0.7 | −36.0 | ||
| Turnout | 2,564,563 | +0.7 | |||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Engler (incumbent) | 1,899,101 | 61.5 | +11.7 | |
| Democratic | Howard Wolpe | 1,188,438 | 38.5 | −10.6 | |
| Write-ins | 1,538 | 0.1 | 0.0 | ||
| Majority | 710,663 | 23.0 | −+12.3 | ||
| Turnout | 3,089,077 | +1.34 | |||
| Republicanhold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Engler (incumbent) | 1,883,005 | 62.2 | +0.7 | |
| Democratic | Geoffrey Fieger | 1,143,574 | 37.8 | −0.7 | |
| Write-ins | Write-In | 525 | 0.01 | −0.09 | |
| Majority | 739,431 | 24.4 | +1.4 | ||
| Turnout | 3,027,104 | −0.02 | |||
| Republicanhold | Swing | ||||
After leaving the governor's mansion in January 2003, Engler served as president of the state and local government sector ofElectronic Data Systems. Engler left that position in June 2004 to be elected president and CEO of theNational Association of Manufacturers.[16] Engler's tenure at the NAM ended in January 2011. In January 2011, Engler was named president of theBusiness Roundtable.[17]
In 2017, Engler was appointed to a four-year term on the governing board of theNational Assessment of Educational Progress project.[18]
On January 30, 2018, Engler was named the interim president ofMichigan State University to replaceLou Anna Simon, who was embroiled with the school in theUSA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal involvingLarry Nassar.[19][20] The appointment of Engler sparked controversy due to his previous handling of sexual misconduct as governor of Michigan. Engler's tenure as interim president was plagued by controversies, brought on by Engler's apparent callous statements and actions toward survivors during Board of Trustees meetings and statements that were reported by the press. One of Nassar's victims,Rachael Denhollander, said Engler "chose to stand against every child and every sexual assault victim in the entire state, to protect an institution."
Engler resigned on January 16, 2019 after the Board of Trustees indicated its intent to ask him to resign following a series of embarrassing incidents regarding Nassar's victims and his responses to issues in the aftermath.[21] Engler initially indicated he planned to resign on January 23, 2019[22] but the Board required him to resign the morning after he submitted his resignation letter.[23]
In 1975, Engler marriedColleen House, who served in the Michigan House of Representatives before running for lieutenant governor of Michigan in 1986. The day after she lost the race for lieutenant governor, she filed for divorce.[24] The couple had no children together; she remarried in 2002, and died in 2022.[25]
Engler married Michelle DeMunbrun, a Texas attorney, on December 8, 1990. The couple has triplet daughters, born November 13, 1994. As First Lady, Michelle Engler served as the founding chair of the Michigan Community Service Commission. Michelle Engler was named to theFederal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) board in 2001 by PresidentGeorge W. Bush, and re-appointed in 2002.[26]
| Michigan House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Russell H. Strange Jr. | Member of theMichigan House of Representatives from the100th district 1971–1972 | Succeeded by Bert C. Brennan |
| Preceded by | Member of theMichigan House of Representatives from the89th district 1973–1978 | Succeeded by |
| Michigan Senate | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theMichigan Senate from the36th district 1979–1982 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theMichigan Senate from the35th district 1983–1990 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Majority Leader of the Michigan Senate 1984–1990 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of Michigan 1990,1994,1998 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theRepublican Governors Association 1995–1996 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Michigan 1991–2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theNational Governors Association 2001–2002 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former Governor | Order of precedence of the United States | Succeeded byas Former Governor |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
