Frank Murkowski | |
|---|---|
_(tight_crop).jpg) Murkowski in 1992 | |
| 8thGovernor of Alaska | |
| In office December 2, 2002 – December 4, 2006 | |
| Lieutenant | Loren Leman |
| Preceded by | Tony Knowles |
| Succeeded by | Sarah Palin |
| United States Senator fromAlaska | |
| In office January 3, 1981 – December 2, 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Mike Gravel |
| Succeeded by | Lisa Murkowski |
| 3rdAlaska Commissioner of Economic Development | |
| In office December 5, 1966 – December 7, 1970 | |
| Governor | Wally Hickel Keith Miller |
| Preceded by | William Dickson |
| Succeeded by | Everett Buness |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Frank Hughes Murkowski (1933-03-28)March 28, 1933 (age 92) Seattle,Washington, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 6, includingLisa |
| Education | Seattle University (BS) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  U.S. Coast Guard |
| Service years | 1955–1957 |
Murkowski, as a U.S. senator, speaks on legislation to reform mining laws Recorded March 8, 1995 | |
Frank Hughes Murkowski (born March 28, 1933) is an American politician. A member of theRepublican Party, he served as aUnited States Senator representingAlaska from 1981 to 2002 and as the eighthgovernor of Alaska from 2002 to 2006.
Murkowski was the Republican nominee for Alaska's solecongressional district in1970, but lost to his Democratic opponentNick Begich. In1980, he was elected to the United States Senate, and was reelected in1986,1992, and1998.
Murkowski ran for governor of Alaska in2002 to replace Democratic incumbentTony Knowles. He defeated Lieutenant GovernorFran Ulmer in the general election and took office on December 2, 2002. Murkowski resigned his U.S. Senate seat before taking office and appointed his daughter,Lisa Murkowski, to replace him. In his2006 re-election bid, he finished in third place in the Republican primary behindSarah Palin andJohn Binkley.
Murkowski was born inSeattle, Washington, the son of Helen (née Hughes) and Frank M. Murkowski.[1] His paternal grandfather was of Polish descent.[2] Murkowski attendedKetchikan High School in Alaska, graduating in 1951. He studied atSanta Clara University from 1951 to 1953, and earned aBS in economics fromSeattle University in 1955. He joined theUnited States Coast Guard in the summer of 1955 and served until 1957 – the year his daughterLisa was born. He was stationed in Sitka and Ketchikan, Alaska, and aboard the cuttersSorrel andThistle. Another daughter, Carol, is married to the son of State Sen.Arliss Sturgulewski, a former gubernatorial nominee.[3]
After a stint at Pacific National Bank and further study at Pacific Coast Banking School, Murkowski became Alaska's youngest commissioner at the time when he was appointed Commissioner of Economic Development, aged 33, and was elevated to the presidency of the Alaska National Bank of the North in 1971. He has also headed the Alaska Bankers Association and – in 1977 -[4] the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce.[5]
He ran forAlaska's sole U.S. House seat in1970, but was defeated in a landslide by Democraticstate SenatorNick Begich.[6]
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He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1980, defeating Democratic candidateClark Gruening,with the help of Ronald Reagan's popularity. He won with 54% of the vote.[6] He was re-elected in 1986, 1992, and 1998. During his time in the Senate, he was most notable as Chairman of theEnergy and Natural Resources Committee from 1995 to 2001. As chair, he argued and attempted unsuccessfully to open theArctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.
Murkowski had ananti-abortion record in the Senate.[7] He also opposedgun control andaffirmative action.[7]
In a floor statement in the Senate, regarding the ban of homosexuals serving in the military, Murkowski stated that homosexuals have a right to choose their lifestyle, but there exists no right to serve. In his opposition to lifting the ban, his speech focused on the cost effect on the Veterans Administration in treating service members infected with HIV.[8] His daughter and successor in the Senate,Lisa Murkowski, voted to repeal the ban on homosexuals in the armed services, and later became the third Republican Senator to endorse thelegalization of same-sex marriage while in office.[9]
Murkowski waselected governor on November 5, 2002, receiving nearly 56% of the vote, the highest percentage for any Republican gubernatorial nominee in Alaska history up until that point.[10] He succeeded DemocratTony Knowles and took office on December 2, 2002.
Upon his inauguration, he resigned his Senate seat and appointed his daughter,Lisa Murkowski, the Majority Leader-designate of theAlaska House of Representatives, in his place. The appointment was widely criticized as an act ofnepotism.
Toward the end of his administration he brokered a deal for a gas pipeline that was never considered, in final form, by the legislature. Murkowski threatened to sign the deal without legislative approval, but the legislature successfully brought a lawsuit to enjoin him from doing so.
Governor Murkowski ran for re-election in 2006, but came in third behind formerWasilla MayorSarah Palin and businessmanJohn Binkley in the Republican primary election on August 22, 2006 (Palin winning with 51% and Binkley taking second with 30% to Murkowski's 19%). Murkowski's margin of defeat was the largest in any Republican primary by an incumbent governor in United States history.[11] Murkowski left office with one of the nation's worst approval ratings of 19%.[12][13]
On March 4, 2008, Murkowski's former chief-of-staff,Jim Clark admitted that he was aware that Veco Corp had paid $10,000 for a political poll to gauge the popularity of then-incumbent Governor Murkowski. Clark was charged with "honest services fraud". Before he was sentenced, the US Supreme Court ruled that the statute was drafted with unconstitutional vagueness and henceforth will only cover "fraudulent schemes to deprive another of honest services through bribes or kickbacks supplied by a third party who ha[s] not been deceived." Since Clark was guilty of neither bribes nor kickbacks, all charges were voided.
In all 27 years of public service, Murkowski spent two years in the armed services, 21 years as Alaska's junior senator in D.C. and four years as governor.
Murkowski considered attempting a return to the governorship in the2018 election, but ultimately decided against it.[14]
In 2005, despite opposition from the Alaska Legislature, Murkowski purchased aWestwind II jet with state money for $2.7 million.[15] This purchase became the symbol of his unpopular legacy in state politics, so much so that his successor,Sarah Palin, promised to sell the jet once she became governor.[16]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromAlaska (Class 3) 1980,1986,1992,1998 | Succeeded by Lisa Murkowski |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of Alaska 2002 | Succeeded by Sarah Palin |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Alaska 1981–2002 Served alongside:Ted Stevens | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Veterans' Affairs Committee 1985–1987 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theSenate Veterans' Affairs Committee 1987–1991 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Vice Chair of theSenate Intelligence Committee 1991–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theSenate Veterans' Affairs Committee 1993–1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Energy Committee 1995–2001, 2001 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theSenate Energy Committee 2001, 2001–2002 | |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Alaska 2002–2006 | Succeeded by Sarah Palin |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former US Senator | Order of precedence of the United States as Former US Senator | Succeeded byas Former US Senator |
| Class 2 |  | |
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| Class 3 | ||
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| Class 3 | ||
Chairs of theUnited States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs | ||
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| Public Lands (1816–1921) | | |
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| Public Lands and Surveys (1921–1947) | ||
| Interior and Insular Affairs (1947–1977) | ||
| Energy and Natural Resources (1977–) | ||
Republican Party nominees forGovernor of Alaska | ||
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
