Adlai Stevenson III | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official Portrait, 1977 | |
| United States Senator fromIllinois | |
| In office November 17, 1970 – January 3, 1981 | |
| Preceded by | Ralph T. Smith |
| Succeeded by | Alan J. Dixon |
| 63rdTreasurer of Illinois | |
| In office January 9, 1967 – November 17, 1970 | |
| Governor | Otto Kerner Jr. Samuel Shapiro Richard B. Ogilvie |
| Preceded by | William Scott |
| Succeeded by | Charles W. Woodford |
| Member of theIllinois House of Representatives from the at-large district | |
| In office January 13, 1965 – January 11, 1967 | |
| Preceded by | redistricting |
| Succeeded by | redistricting |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Adlai Ewing Stevenson III (1930-10-10)October 10, 1930 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | September 6, 2021(2021-09-06) (aged 90) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Other political affiliations | Solidarity (1986) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | Stevenson family |
| Education | Harvard University (AB,LLB) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Service | United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1952–1954 (active) 1954–1961 (reserve) |
| Rank | Captain |
| Wars | Korean War |
Adlai Ewing Stevenson III (October 10, 1930 – September 6, 2021) was an American attorney and politician fromIllinois. A member of theDemocratic Party, he served as a member of theUnited States Senate from 1970 to 1981. A member of the prominentStevenson family, he also served as a member of theIllinois House of Representatives andIllinois Treasurer. He unsuccessfully ran forgovernor of Illinois in1982 and1986. He had been awarded Japan’s Order of the Sacred Treasure with gold and silver stars and was an honorary Professor ofRenmin University of China.[1]
Adlai Stevenson III was born in Chicago toEllen Stevenson and two-time Democratic Party presidential nomineeAdlai Stevenson II. He attendedMilton Academy in Massachusetts,Harrow School in England, andHarvard College.[2] He received a law degree in 1957 fromHarvard Law School.[3][4] Stevenson was commissioned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1952, served in Korea and was discharged from active duty in 1954. He continued to serve in the Marine Reserve and was discharged in 1961 as a captain.[5] In 1957, Stevenson went to work as a clerk for a Justice of theSupreme Court of Illinois and worked there until 1958 when he joined the law firm of Brown and Platt.[6]
Stevenson was elected to theIllinois House of Representatives in the1964 Illinois House of Representatives election, which was heldat-large due to the state's failure to redistrict.[6][7] With 2,417,978 votes, he received the most votes of any candidate (by a margin of 7,613 more votes than the next candidate). More than half of ballots cast inthe statewide general election included a vote for Stevenson.[8]
Stevenson served in the Illinois House from 1965 to 1967.[6][7] During his time in the state house, he won a Best Legislator award from the Independent Voters of Illinois.[9][1]
In 1966, Stevenson was electedtreasurer of Illinois. As state treasurer, he quadrupled earnings on the investment of state funds while cutting the budget each year.[1][10]
Following the death of incumbent U.S. SenatorEverett Dirksen in 1969, Stevenson ran for his seat. He faced former state representativeRalph T. Smith in the general election, who was appointed to the seat by Gov.Richard B. Ogilvie. Stevenson defeated Smith in a1970 special election by a vote of 2,065,054 (57%) to 1,519,718 (42%) to fill Dirksen's unexpired term.[11]
In1974, Stevenson ran for re-election, and faced RepublicanGeorge Burditt in the general election. He defeated Burditt by a vote of 1,811,496 (62%) to 1,084,884 (37%).[12]
In the Senate, Stevenson served on the Commerce Committee (Chairman of the Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space), Banking Committee (Chairman of the Subcommittee on International Finance) and Intelligence Committee (Chairman, Subcommittee on the Collection and Production of Intelligence). He was the first Chairman of theUnited States Senate Select Committee on Ethics charged with implementing a code of ethics he helped draft. Stevenson was also chairman of a Special Senate Committee which led the first major reorganization of the Senate since its Committee system was formed in the early 19th Century.[1]
Stevenson took his seat on November 17, 1970.
Stevenson opposed theVietnam War. He condemned Democratic PresidentLyndon B. Johnson’s Indochina policies and the violent police tactics at the1968 Democratic National Convention inChicago, renewed his attacks on Republican PresidentRichard Nixon’s prosecution of the war.[13] He also introduced legislation requiring an end to allaid toSouth Vietnam by June 30, 1975.[14]
Stevenson was highly critical of Republican PresidentRichard Nixon during theWatergate scandal. He called on Nixon to answer for the integrity of the country’s leaders. “All of us — Republicans and Democrats — have an interest in clearing the record," he said a year before Nixon resigned in disgrace. “The faith of the people in their system and their leaders — a faith that has already been shaken enough — is at stake."[13]
Stevenson authored theInternational Banking Act of 1978, theStevenson–Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 and its companion, theBayh–Dole Act, to foster cooperative research, organize national laboratories for technology utilization and commercialization, and permit private sector interests in government-funded research.[15] He was the first chairman of theUnited States Senate Select Committee on Ethics charged with implementing a code of ethics he helped draft.[16] Stevenson was also chairman of a special Senate committee that reorganized the Senate and served on theUnited States Senate Democratic Policy Committee.[1] He also conducted the first in-depth congressional study of terrorism as chairman of the Subcommittee on the Collection and Production of Intelligence, leading to introduction of the Comprehensive Counter Terrorism Act of 1971.[1] He warned of "spectacular acts of disruption and destruction" and an amendment that proposed reducing assistance for Israel by $200 million.[17] His amendment received seven votes.[1]
Stevenson was a strong supporter of Israel, but was critical of the influence ofAmerican Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) on US politics. Stevenson had sharp differences with the Israeli lobby on issues concerning the Middle East, including a 1979 vote to cut military assistance to Israel by 10 percent and support of a 1978 weapons sale to Saudi Arabia. AIPAC also criticized his meeting with PLO leaderYasser Arafat.
In a letter to Jewish leader Hyman Bookbinder in 1980, Stevenson wrote:
"It is the Israeli lobby, led by AIPAC, which I deplore. It does not speak for all Jewry, including Israeli Jewry. Yet it exercises an inordinate degree of influence with weak public officials. I deplore their subservience to the vagaries of a foreign government."[18]
Stevenson was encouraged to run for president in1976, which was fueled byRichard J. Daley of Chicago, who resented the senator’s liberal reforms, but who recognized Stevenson as being a vote-getter. The senator declined to campaign, but as the nominating process got underway, Daley forces ran him as afavorite son candidate.[19]
Despite this, former governorJimmy Carter ofGeorgia locked up the nomination before the1976 Democratic National Convention, inNew York City. Stevenson was, however, one of the finalists for vice president at the convention, though Carter eventually chose U.S. SenatorWalter Mondale from Minnesota.[20]
Stevenson opted to not run for reelection in1980 and returned to Illinois to practice law.[5]
Stevenson ran forgovernor of Illinois in1982 and1986, losing both elections toJames R. Thompson.[21]
In the 1982 campaign, Stevenson complained that Thompson was trying to portray him as an ineffectual elitist by famously stating, "He is saying 'Me tough guy,' as if to imply that I’m some kind of wimp."[22] The initial vote count showed Stevenson winning;[23] however, the final official count showed him losing by 0.14 percent.[24] Stevenson promptly petitioned theIllinois Supreme Court for a recount and presented evidence of widespread election irregularities, including evidence of a failed punch card system for tabulation of votes.[23] Three days before the gubernatorial inauguration, the court denied the recount in a 4-3 ruling, asserting that the Illinois recount statute was unconstitutional.[25]
In the 1986 statewide Democratic primaries, Democratic voters nominated allies ofLyndon LaRouche for lieutenant governor and secretary of state.[26] Stevenson objected to their platform and refused to appear on the same ticket.[26] Instead, he organized theIllinois Solidarity Party to provide an alternate slate for governor, lieutenant governor, and secretary of state, which was endorsed byDemocratic Party of Illinois.[27] Persuading Democrats to vote for most of the Democratic ticket as well as the Solidarity candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, and secretary of state was an unconventional strategy; however, Stevenson and the candidate for lieutenant governor position, Mike Howlett, won 40% of the vote.[28]
After leaving the Senate, Stevenson was active in business and cultural relations withEast Asia.[16] He was chairman of SC&M Investment Management Corporation,[29] and co-chairman of HuaMei Capital Company (the first Chinese-American investment bank).[30]
He also held many positions with non-profit organizations in this area.[16] He served as chairman of theNational Association of Japan–America Societies Society of Chicago, the Midwest U.S.-Japan Association, and the Midwest U.S.-China Association, and as president of the U.S. Committee of thePacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC).[16] He was also co-chairman of the PECC's Financial Market Development Project, a member of the U.S.-Korea Wisemen Council, and sat on the board of directors of theKorea Institute for International Economic Policy.[1] He was also chairman of the international Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy housed at the family home, a national historic landmark, nearLibertyville, Illinois.[31] Stevenson was also a member of the ReFormers Caucus ofIssue One.[32]
On December 8, 2012, aged 82, Stevenson endorsed the proposal for theUnited Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA), one of only six persons who served in the United States Congress ever to do so.[33]
Stevenson died from complications ofLewy body dementia at his home in Chicago on September 6, 2021, at age 90.[5][16]
Stevenson's great-grandfatherAdlai E. Stevenson I wasVice President of the United States (1893–1897) duringGrover Cleveland's second term.[5] His grandfatherLewis Stevenson was Illinois secretary of state (1914–1917).[5] His father,Adlai Stevenson II, was governor of Illinois,Ambassador to the United Nations, and two-time Democratic presidential nominee.[34] ActorMcLean Stevenson was histhird cousin.[35]
Stevenson met his future wife, Nancy Anderson, in 1953 while he was in tank training atFort Knox in preparation for his deployment to Japan and then Korea. The couple was married in 1955 at Nancy’s home outside of Louisville.[36] Together, they had four children. His son Adlai Stevenson IV is a business executive and former journalist.[5] Though Adlai IV had previously expressed his intention to be "Adlai the last,"[37] his son, Adlai Ewing Stevenson V, was born in the summer of 1994.[citation needed]
Stevenson has been honored with a number of awards, which include :
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forTreasurer of Illinois 1966 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromIllinois (Class 3) 1970,1974 | |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Illinois 1982 | Vacant Title next held by Neil Hartigan |
| First | Illinois Solidarity nominee forGovernor of Illinois 1986 | Succeeded by Jessie Fields |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Treasurer of Illinois 1967–1971 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 3) from Illinois 1970–1981 Served alongside:Charles H. Percy | Succeeded by |
| Class 2 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
