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Richard "Dick" Celeste
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64th Governor of Ohio
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| In office January 10, 1983 – January 14, 1991 |
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| Lieutenant | Myrl Shoemaker (1983-1985) Vacant (1985-1987) Paul Leonard (1987-1991) |
| Preceded by | Jim Rhodes |
| Succeeded by | George Voinovich |
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| In office 1979 – 1981 |
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| President | Jimmy Carter |
| Preceded by | Carolyn R. Payton |
| Succeeded by | Loret Miller Ruppe |
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| In office January 11, 1975 – January 1979 |
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| Governor | Jim Rhodes |
| Preceded by | John W. Brown |
| Succeeded by | George Voinovich |
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| In office November 10, 1998 – April 25, 2001 |
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| President | Bill Clinton George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Frank G. Wisner |
| Succeeded by | Robert Blackwill |
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| Born | November 11, 1937 Cleveland, Ohio |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Dagmar Braun Celeste Jacqueline Lundquist |
| Children | 7 |
| Profession | Teacher, public servant |
| Religion | Methodist |
Richard Frank "Dick" Celeste is a American politician from Ohio, and a member of the Democratic Party. He served as the Governor of Ohio from 1983-1991.
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Early life and career
In 1959, Celeste was graduated magna cum laude from Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut). He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Celeste then received a Rhodes Scholarship to attend Oxford University (Oxford, England). There he met Dagmar Ingrid Braun, whom he married in Austria in 1962. After returning to the United States, Celeste served as staff liaison office in the Peace Corps and as special assistant to Chester Bowles, then United States Ambassador to India.
Celeste was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1970, and was subsequently elected lieutenant governor in 1974 (defeating Republican John W. Brown, serving under the Republican James A. Rhodes—at the time, Ohio's lieutenant governor was elected separately from the governor, so the victors could be of different parties). In 1978, Celeste ran for governor, but lost to incumbent Rhodes. President Carter appointed Celeste Director of the Peace Corps from 1979 to 1981, where he was responsible for programs in 53 countries.
Governor of Ohio
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In 1982 Celeste defeated Republican nominee Clarence J. "Bud" Brown Jr. and became governor of Ohio. Rhodes could not run in 1982 since Ohio law barred him from seeking a third consecutive term. In 1986, Rhodes returned to contest the governorship, but this time Celeste, now the incumbent, won. Celeste served as governor of Ohio from 1983 to 1991.
As governor, Celeste increased support for human services, mental health & addiction recovery services, funding for education and children services including providing onsite daycare for state employees. Before the Celeste area Ohio ranked near the bottom among states in funding for these programs. Celeste and the Democratic-controlled legislature increased the state income tax by approximately 40% while also retaining a temporary tax of 50% instituted by the republican predecessors. Celeste is noted for opening many government positions to African Americans and women. (In fact he hired more women to cabinet positions than all previous governors combined.) Dick Celeste is also known for restoring Ohio's banking institutions. Perhaps h is most famous for having not only commuted Debra Brown's death-sentence to life imprisonment but also for comutating most "battered women" serving sentences at Marysville state prison for killing their agressors.
Most impressive of all Celeste created jobs for Ohioans and opportunities for Ohio trade around the world in unprecedented ways. The Thomas Edision Program placed Ohio at the top of state sponsored development innovations and Ohio was the first and only state to open a trade office on the African subcontinent. For that Dick and his wife Dagmar were honored as Yaruba chiefs by the Oni of Ife. As a governor from Cleveland Celeste boosted his hometown by reinvigorating Public Square, rebuildiung the harbor and funding the arts extravagantly,including the downtown theatre district and institutions like the Cleveland Orchestra, the Cleveland Museum of Art. (Funding for The Ohio Arts Counciul increasewd tenfold in his 8 years of office). Tower City, Progressive arena & the Gund arena all were born in the Celeste years. so was the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and many other lakefront cultural landmarks, including Voinovich Park.
Celeste's successes were possible because of his committment to working in win/win ways with the leadership of both the Ohio House and Senate especially in close collaboration with the Speaker Vern Riffe. In his second term Celeste together with the democratic Speake Riffer and republican Supreme Court Justice Moyer created the first State Comission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management and convened the first state sponsored "conversion economics" conference in the nation. For this and other peacemaking innovations Ohio received recognitioon from the U.N.
On a more personal note the Celeste's restored the Governors Residence , built professional staff and opened the place to ordinary and extraordinary folks from around Ohio and around the world. The Governor's art exhibits, chamber music concerts and First Lady's spiritual retreats and theology gatherings as well as wonder filled Christmas & Hannukah parties for neighborhood kids, became regular seasonal events. The Residence Gardens , especially the rose garden, one of the oldest in the nation, were reconstitued and The Friends of the Residence were formed, with Les Wexner as their first president, to help raise private funds to defray the cost of those improvements.
Perhaps most telling of the Celeste years is the little known fact that when he took office Ohio was loosing most of its young people after they graduated. By the time Celeste left office that trend had reversed.
Later career
Celeste then established the consulting firm Celeste & Sabety Ltd. in Columbus. After he served as the director of the DNC's healthcare campaign in 1993, President Clinton appointed him as United States Ambassador to India, a position he served in from 1997 to 2001.
His brother, Theodore S. Celeste, successfully ran as a Democratic Party candidate for the Ohio House in 2006.
Celeste was inaugurated as the 12th President of Colorado College in 2002. Celeste is a member of the advisory board of the Roosevelt Institution, a student think tank. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Celeste, along with Thomas Kean who co-chaired the 9/11 Commission, co-chairs the Homeland Security Project for The Century Foundation. He also sits on the board of the Independent Strategic Assessment Group, United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM), which is the military command over the USA established in the wake of the attacks of September 11. Celeste joined board of Directors of Glimcher Realty Trust in September 2007.[1]
Celeste had six children (now grown) with his first wife, Dagmar. The couple divorced in 1995. Celeste is currently married to Jacqueline Lundquist. Celeste and Lundquist have one child, Samuel.
References
See also
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by John W. Brown |
Lieutenant Governor of Ohio 1975 – 1979 |
Succeeded by George Voinovich |
| Preceded by James A. Rhodes |
Governor of Ohio 1983 – 1991 |
Succeeded by George Voinovich |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by Carolyn R. Payton |
Director of the Peace Corps 1979 – 1981 |
Succeeded by Loret Miller Ruppe |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by Frank G. Wisner |
United States Ambassador to India 1997 – 2001 |
Succeeded by Robert D. Blackwill |
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