Donald W. Riegle, Jr.

Donald Riegle
United States Senator from Michigan
In office December 30, 1976 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by	Philip A. Hart
Succeeded by	Spencer Abraham
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan's 7th district
In office March 3, 1966 – December 30, 1976
Preceded by	John C. Mackie
Succeeded by	Dale Kildee
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican (c.1956-1973) Democratic (1973-present)
Spouse(s)	He has been married to Lori Hansen Riegle for the past 30 years, who are the parents of Ashley and Allison Riegle.
Alma mater	Flint Junior College Western University Michigan State University Harvard Business School
Religion	Methodist

Donald Wayne Riegle Jr. (born February 4, 1938) is an American politician from Michigan, who served for five terms as a Congressman and for three terms as a Senator. His father, Donald W. Riegle, Sr., was mayor of Flint, Michigan.

Early life

He was born in Flint, Michigan and is a graduate of Flint Central High School. He attended Flint Junior College and Western Michigan University before graduating from the University of Michigan-Flint in 1960. He received an M.B.A. from Michigan State University in 1961 and from 1964-66 he attended the Harvard Business School where he completed all the course work in the doctoral program in business/government relations. He was employed by IBM from 1961-64 and later served on the faculties of Michigan State University, Boston University,University of Southern California, and Harvard University.

Political life

Riegle is best known for the political scandals in which he was involved. As a junior congressman, he was caught making audio recording of sexual encounters with various women. The encounters happened in his office and were widely reported in the press but had little effect on his political career. Hi career came to an end, however, as a result of his being named one of the Keating Five.

In 1966, Riegle, then 28 years old and a moderate Republican, defeated incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative John C. Mackie to be elected from Michigan's 7th congressional district to the 90th Congress. He was subsequently re-elected as a Republican in the next three elections. In 1973, Riegle changed party affiliation to become a Democrat over differences with the Nixon Administration regarding the Vietnam War and civil rights. He was re-elected as a Democrat to the 94th Congress. He did not run for reelection to the House in 1976, but was elected to the U.S. Senate representing the state of Michigan for the term commencing January 3, 1977. On December 30, 1976, before the new term began, he resigned from the House and was appointed by the Governor to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Senator Philip A. Hart for the term ending January 3, 1977. He was reelected to the Senate in 1982 and again in 1988, this time with the largest Democratic vote in the history of the state. Riegle did not seek re-election in 1994. He served as chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, 1989–1995. Riegle also served on the Senate Committee on Finance, where he served as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health for Families and the Uninsured, the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, the Senate Committee on Commerce, and was a member of the Senate Committee on Budget from 1979 to 1994. In 1994, Riegle led an investigation of the illnesses being experienced by veterans of the Gulf War, using the jursidction of the Senate Banking Committee over "dual use" exports—materials and technology that could be converted to military use. The resulting investigative report to the Senate detailed at least three occasions on which U. S. military forces came into contact with chemical warfare agents that may have led to the development of Gulf War syndrome. Commonly referred to as the Riegle Report to the U.S. Senate, the report called for further government investigation and recourse for war veterans suffering from Gulf War syndrome.

In 1995, he joined Shandwick International in its Washington, D.C. office, serving as Chairman of Shandwick Public Affairs and was later promoted to Chairman of Shandwick International, Americas.He served as an adjunct professor at the Michigan State University Eli Broad Graduate School of Managment from 1995-2000. He joined APCO Worldwide in 2001 serving as Chairman of Government Relations in Washington, DC. In 1972, he authored the best selling book,"O Congress," with Trevor Armbrister, Doubleday & Co., Inc. The book provides an inside look at the workings of Congress, Riegle's opposition to the Vietnam War, and his break with the Nixon White House.

References

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• The Political Graveyard

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