George J. Mitchell

(b. Waterville, Maine, 20 Aug. 1933) US; US Senator 1980 – 95 George Mitchell was born to an Irish father and a Lebanese mother and grew up in relative poverty. Educated at Bowdoin and Georgetown Law School, he worked for the Department of Justice before resigning in 1962 to become an assistant to Senator Edmund Muskie, who greatly influenced Mitchell's career. Mitchell left Muskie's staff in 1965 for private law practice but in 1968 he became deputy director of Muskie's vice-presidential campaign. When Muskie ran for the Democratic nomination in 1972 Mitchell served as deputy director. Mitchell served in a number of Democratic Party posts: he was chair of the Maine Democratic National Committee 1966 – 8 and was a member of the party Commission on Party Structure and Delegate Section where he opposed delegate quotas. Although he lost a bid to become chair of the Democratic National Committee in 1972 he was appointed a member in 1974, a post he resigned when President Jimmy Carter appointed Mitchell US attorney for Maine in 1977. (He was appointed a judge on the US District Court in 1979.)

Mitchell had made an unsuccessful gubernatorial race in 1974 and might have stayed a judge but for Carter's nomination of Muskie to be Secretary of State in 1980, thus vacating a Maine Senate seat. Through Muskie, Mitchell was appointed and then surprisingly won re-election in his own right in 1982. In 1988 he won re-election easily.

In the Senate Mitchell gained respect for his mastery of legal detail and for his organizational capacity. His major legislative interests were environmental issues (where he proved an able critic of the Reagan policies) and especially air pollution. In 1984 he was elected chair of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee and took a lot of the credit for the Democratic recapture of the Senate in 1986. In 1987 Mitchell's impressive performance on the Iran-Contra hearings, enhanced his reputation and in 1989 he was elected majority leader against competition from Daniel Inouye and Bennett Johnson.

Mitchell's low-key style of leadership proved well suited to a period in which Congress and the presidency were frequently in conflict but legislative compromises had to be reached. In 1994 Mitchell retired from the Senate. In retirement he played a key role in attempts to bring about a settlement to the Northern Ireland conflict.

(b Headswood, nr Larbert, Central, 1856; d Gullane, Lothian, 1930). Scottish architect. The only son of Sir Arthur Mitchell, he trained in Edinburgh in the office of Rowand Anderson and in 1883 set up his own practice, which became large and was concerned equally with designs for churches, public buildings and country houses. He was official architect to the General Board of Lunacy in Scotland, the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, and the Commercial Bank of Scotland. Much of his work was based on his knowledge of historical sources. Well Court (1885-6), Dean Village, Edinburgh, a quadrangle with flats, a detached community hall and a resident factor's house, derives from the Earl's Palace, Kirkwall, Orkney, and Scottish 17th-century architecture. Craighouse, Edinburgh, an immense ch?teau built in the French Renaissance style as a private hospital in 1889-94 for the Royal Edinburgh Asylum, is situated on the north slope of Craiglockhart Hill, and its picturesque composition splendidly exploits the natural contours of the slope. His addition to Ramsay Gardens (1893-4), Castle Hill, Edinburgh, a hall of residence and block of flats, is a mixture of the Scottish Baronial and English traditional cottage styles and also exploits the profile of Edinburgh Castle and its Esplanade. Mitchell's most attractive church is the Chalmer's Memorial (1904), Cockenzie, Lothian, a small Arts and Crafts building with a saddleback tower surmounted by a Swiss-inspired spirelet. Designs for the grand houses of his important friends and clients included a scheme for Barnbougle Castle (1889; unexecuted), Lothian, in the style of Linlithgow Palace, Lothian, for the Prime Minister, the Earl of Rosebery (1847-1928). Mitchell was not an innovator. He ended his prosperous life in a house he designed himself at Gullane, Lothian. The Pleasance (1902; now Muirfield Gate) is harled and tile hung and is protected from the sea breezes behind its own miniature gatehouse. The Edwardian interiors, known from contemporary photographs, reflected his well-off bachelor existence. His partner George Wilson (1844-1912) appears to have acted as his office administrator and coordinator.

See the Abbreviations for further details.

A popular Maine Democrat, George John Mitchell (born 1933) was the majority leader in the U.S. Senate from 1989 to 1994.

George John Mitchell was born in Waterville, Maine, on August 20, 1933. He was the fourth of five children (one daughter and four sons) of Mary Saad and George Mitchell. His mother had emigrated as a young girl from Lebanon and was a factory worker in mills in the Waterville area. His father was the orphan son of Irish immigrants and worked as a laborer.

Young Mitchell was a student at St. Joseph's grammar school and Waterville High School. A scholarship permitted him to earn a higher education. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1954 with a degree in history. Shortly thereafter he served in the U.S. Army until 1956 and was an officer in the Counter-Intelligence Corps in Berlin, Germany. Returning from active military duty, he enrolled in the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. He attended night school and worked during the day as an insurance claims adjuster. With a law degree, earned in 1960, Mitchell became a trial lawyer in the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department in Washington, D.C. He became a member of the bar associations in Maine and the District of Columbia.

In 1962 Mitchell was appointed executive assistant to Senator Edmund S. Muskie of Maine. His association with Muskie was to alter his career and political future. "About everything good I know, I learned from Ed Muskie," he once said. Although Mitchell returned to Portland from Washington, D.C. to work for the private law firm of Jensen, Baird, Gardner and Henry, he remained active in politics. He served as the state chair for the Maine Democratic Party from 1966 to 1968. Mitchell became deputy campaign manager for Muskie's vice presidential race in 1968 and for Muskie's effort to win the presidential nomination in 1972.

In the early 1970s, Mitchell went back to his law practice job, also serving as an assistant county attorney for Cumberland County part-time in 1971. Mitchell balanced his legal workload with volunteer activity in partisan politics. He was active in the Maine Democratic Party, serving as state chairperson from 1966 to 1968. During the following nine years he served on the Democratic National Committee.

The first attempt to win an elected office for himself was a failure. Mitchell was the Democratic nominee for governor of Maine in 1974. He lost the election to an Independent in a three-candidate race.

With Muskie's backing Mitchell was appointed the U.S. attorney for Maine by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. In 1979, again with Muskie's backing, he was appointed U.S. district court judge in northern Maine. Although the judgeship was a lifetime position, he held it for only a short while.

In 1980 Mitchell accepted an appointment to the U.S. Senate to complete the unexpired term of Muskie (resigned to become secretary of state), who had recommended him to fill the vacancy. This was the start of Mitchell's 14-year career in the United States Senate. Mitchell faced Maine's voters in 1982, seeking election to a full Senate term. He won office with 61 percent of the vote, having made extensive use of television advertisements and travel throughout the state.

Mitchell was selected to chair the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, responsible for getting the party's candidates elected in 1984. He was spectacularly effective. The Democrats recaptured control after a six-year period of being the minority party in the Senate. As a reward, the Democrats gave Mitchell the honorary title of deputy Senate president pro tempore.

In the Senate Mitchell served on the Veterans Affairs Committee and was interested in health care issues. He served on the Environment and Public Works Committee and was active in seeking legislation on clean air issues related to acid rain and toxic cleanups. As a member of the Finance Committee, he worked on welfare reform and the 1986 tax reform act. His other legislative interests included foster care and child care, trade relations, fisheries, indoor air pollutants, endangered species, and preservation of historic lighthouses.

Mitchell attracted attention as a member of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the Nicaraguan Opposition (popularly known as the Iran-Contra Committee). This special congressional panel investigated a covert arms-for-hostages deal with Iran and financial support for Nicaraguan rebels during the Ronald Reagan presidency. The senator proved to be a skilled questioner, with a knowledge of facts and a belief that the acts of some White House staff members were wrong. His performance during the 1987 televised committee hearings and his subsequent broadcast response to President Reagan's addresses brought him favorable notice from the American public and other congressional members. In one of the most memorable moments of the Iran-Contra Affair, Mitchell warned Oliver North to "please remember, that it is possible for an American to disagree with you on aid to the Contras and still love God, and still love his country, just as much as you do. Although He is regularly asked to do so, God does not take sides in American politics."

In November 1988 Mitchell was elected to his second full term as senator. He won with an overwhelming 81 percent of the votes cast. It was the highest percentage ever received by a candidate in a state-wide election in Maine history.

The high point of his legislative career came when the Democrats elected Mitchell as Senate majority leader. He took the post at the start of the 101st Congress in 1989. As majority leader, he managed the administration and legislative process of the Senate and tended to the proceedings and legislative schedule on the Senate floor. Mitchell quickly developed a reputation as an accommodating, consensus-oriented, and consultative leader. He also was thought of as an effective spokesperson for the Democrats. However, even with a majority in the Senate, the Democrats were unable to overturn any of President Bush's first 23 vetoes.

Late in 1991, Mitchell and Oregon Republican Mark Hatfield took on the task of instating a 12-month moratorium on nuclear testing in the Nevada desert. The Senate was able to win the support of 53 cosponsors, a Senate majority. Still butting heads with the opposition, the Senate continued negotiations which lead to a final deal: the moratorium was shortened to nine months and the Energy Department would have to end all testing by September 1996. Until that date, the administration would be permitted to conduct up to 15 tests, primarily for safety reasons, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists reported in 1992.

In March 1994, Mitchell announced his retirement from the Senate at the end of his term. Within a month of Mitchell's announcement, Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun announced his retreat as well. Mitchell, who was a federal judge before taking over for Edmund Muskie in the Senate, was named as one of President Bill Clinton's choices as replacement. Clinton could have easily kept the position that of a liberal judge by replacing Blackmun with Mitchell. Mitchell turned down the offer, however, citing several reasons, saying he'd like to "live a little," Newsweek reported, and not spend so much time at work. He also said he felt it would not be proper to have been Senate majority leader over the same senators who would be voting on his confirmation to the Supreme Court. Speculation also abounded that Mitchell, a serious baseball fan, was holding out for the job of baseball commissioner, where he would earn approximately $1 million a year while watching games all over the country.

Vanity Fair also noted that it was around this time that he became seriously involved with Heather MacLachlan, whom he would marry. In a June 1994 issue of Fortune, Daniel Seligman and Patty de Llosa noted that Mitchell's retirement was financially timely: it came three years after the Senate pay raise of 1991, resulting in a salary boost from $113,400 a year to $148,400 at the time of his retirement; the congressional pension plan, which he would most likely receive, would include annual payments of two-and-a-half percent of the average of the three highest years' pay for each year served with the legislature. He would presumably collect an annual pension of $84,595, and, Seligman and de Llosa calculated, based on the life expectancy of a white male his age and a four percent inflation rate over those years, he would stand to collect $2,895,248.

Before his retirement, however, Mitchell continued to work on massive health care reform proposals. His intention was to help Americans without insurance and provide security for those who do so. Mitchell's 1400-page bill called for, among other things, a new subsidy plan to help people buy insurance, including a government voucher system to cover wholly the cost of health care for pregnant women and children under 19 if they met certain low-income requirements. He wanted "community rating zones" to prevent insurers from canceling coverage and require insurance companies to cover those with pre-existing medical conditions. The problems Mitchell encountered with his proposal was the role of government: how could it increase benefits but cut costs? Mitchell had hoped for historic reform with his bill, but was lucky to get a humble bill out of his ordeal.

Even after his retirement, George Mitchell maintained a high political profile. In 1995, he became special counsel to the firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand in Washington, D.C. That same year, Clinton named him to head a committee negotiating the reinstatement of the cease-fire in Northern Ireland. Mitchell's commission wrote a report, the Economist reported, that was "scrupulously balanced and meticulously written," recommending that the Irish Republican Army and British unionists begin talks and dispose of terrorist weapons simultaneously. It was rejected by then-Prime Minister John Major, who wanted weapons disposed before negotiations even began, complicating Mitchell's attempts at a breakthrough. Mitchell's impressive report was all for naught, regardless of Major's disapproval, when the IRA blew London docklands apart, killing two people and injuring over 100 during a Friday rush hour. Apparently, the IRA began planning its attack on the day Mitchell presented his commission report. Later that year, Mitchell was elected to the board of directors of the Xerox Corporation. Besides his seats on boards of Federal Express, UNUM, and Walt Disney, his duties at Xerox involved serving on the finance and nominating committee.

The White House looked for Mitchell's help again in 1996, to prepare President Clinton in his upcoming presidential debates with Bob Dole. Newsweek noted that Clinton aides said Mitchell was skilled at mimicking Dole's senatorial style after observing him for 15 years. After Clinton's re-election and Secretary of State Warren Christopher's resignation, Clinton considered Mitchell to take over, at Christopher's recommendation, although he chose Madeleine Albright instead.

Mitchell was divorced from his wife, the former Sally L. Heath, after almost 30 years of marriage and one daughter, Andrea. He wed Heather MacLachlan on December 10, 1994, a former agent for tennis pros.

Further Reading

Mitchell lacks a published biography in book form. Mitchell's political and legislative activities and record can be researched through the following weekly services: Facts On File and Congressional Quarterly: Weekly Report. See also Michael Barone and Grant Ujifusa, The Almanac of American Politics, which relates the electoral activities and voting ratings of Maine's national officials. The U.S. Government Printing Office publishes a biennial Official Congressional Directory, which lists Senate members' addresses, committee assignments, and biographical sketches. Mitchell and Senator William S. Cohen (Republican of Maine) coauthored Men of Zeal: A Candid Inside Story of the Iran-Contra Hearings (1988). These two authors wrote their observations, experiences, thoughts, and conclusions about the covert operations scandal. The book also presents Mitchell's views on democratic governmental operations. Periodical references include Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (October 1992); Economist (January 27, 1996); Fortune (June 27, 1994); National Review (September 12, 1994; March 11, 1996); New Republic (December 16, 1996); New Yorker (April 25, 1994); Newsweek (March 28, 1994; April 25, 1994; August 15, 1994; September 26, 1994; November 23, 1995; September 16, 1996; November 18, 1996); U.S. News and World Report (March 14, 1994); and Vanity Fair (March 1995). For online sources, see "News From Xerox," http://www.xerox.com/PR/NR950710-Mitchell and "The George J. Mitchell Papers at Bowdoin College," http://www.bowdoin.edu/dept/library/arch/mitchell/bio.htm.

• Born: Aug. 20, 1933, Waterville, Maine
• Political party: Democrat
• Education: Bowdoin College, graduated, 1954; Georgetown University Law Center, graduated, 1960
• Senator from Maine: 1980–95
• Majority leader: 1989–95

What qualities lift senators into their party's leadership? Candidates are judged by their fellow senators on how articulate they will be in presenting their party's programs in the Senate and to the national media. They are chosen for their skills as legislative strategists. And they are often measured by their success in raising campaign funds for their colleagues. All of these qualities helped George Mitchell become Democratic majority leader in 1989.

Mitchell first learned the legislative process when he served on the Senate staff from 1962 to 1965 as executive assistant to Edmund Muskie (Democrat-Maine). In 1980 he was appointed to succeed Muskie (who had resigned to become secretary of state). Mitchell chaired the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 1986, raising funds that helped the Democrats win back the majority in the Senate. He campaigned for the position of majority leader with a promise to improve the “quality of life” for the members by scheduling Senate business to avoid late-night sessions and to allow members to return home over long weekends. Mitchell's eloquence and persistence as a member of the committee investigating the Iran-Contra scandal also convinced Democratic senators of his ability to serve as their spokesman.

See also Iran-Contra investigation (1986); Majority leader

Quotes:

"Although he's regularly asked to do so, God does not take sides in American politics."

For other persons with a similar name, see George Mitchell.

George J. Mitchell, Jr.
United States Senator from Maine
In office May 17, 1980 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by	Edmund Muskie
Succeeded by	Olympia Snowe
17th United States Senate Majority Leader
In office January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1995
Deputy	Alan Cranston Wendell H. Ford (Whips)
Preceded by	Robert Byrd
Succeeded by	Bob Dole
2nd Deputy President pro tempore of the United States Senate
In office 1987 – 1988
President	John C. Stennis
Leader	Robert Byrd
Preceded by	Hubert Humphrey (1978)
Succeeded by	Vacant
United States Special Envoy for the Middle East
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 22, 2009
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	(post created)
United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland
In office 1995 – 2000
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	(post created)
Succeeded by	Richard N. Haass
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maine
In office 1979 – 1980
Nominated by	Jimmy Carter
Preceded by	(new seat)
Succeeded by	Conrad Keefe Cyr
Born	August 20, 1933 (1933-08-20) (age 76) Waterville, Maine
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Bowdoin College Georgetown University Law Center
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Roman Catholic (Maronite Rite) [1]

George John Mitchell, Jr., GBE (born August 20, 1933) is the American special envoy to the Middle East for the Obama administration. A Democrat, Mitchell was a United States Senator who served as the Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995. He was chairman of The Walt Disney Company from March 2004 until January 2007, and was chairman of the international law firm DLA Piper at the time of his appointment as special envoy. He was the Chancellor of Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland and was the main investigator in both Mitchell Reports.

Contents 1 Early life 1.1 Origins 1.2 Education and Army Tenure 2 Political career 2.1 Early Legal Career 2.2 From Judge to Senator 2.3 Senate Majority Leader 3 After the Senate 3.1 Democratic politics 3.2 Education 3.3 Mitchell Report (Arab-Israeli conflict) 3.4 United Nations 4 Northern Ireland peace process 5 Chairman of Disney 6 Baseball's steroids investigation 7 Middle East special envoy 8 Personal Life 9 Electoral history 10 See also 11 Books 12 References 13 Further reading 14 External links

Early life

Origins

Mitchell was born in Waterville, Maine. His father, George John Mitchell, Sr. (born Joseph Kilroy),^[2] was of ethnic Irish descent but was adopted by a Lebanese family since he was orphaned.^[3] He was a janitor at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, where Mitchell was raised. Mitchell's mother, Mary Saad, was a textile worker who emigrated to the United States in 1920 from Bkassine, Lebanon at the age of eighteen. Because of his origin, Mitchell is recognized as a prominent Arab-American.^[4]

Mitchell was raised a Maronite Catholic and in his childhood served as an altar boy at St. Joseph's Maronite Church in Maine.^[5][6] Throughout junior high school and high school, Mitchell worked as a janitor.^[7] In a family of five children, all three of Mitchell's brothers were athletes and though a talented student, he found himself overshadowed by his brothers' athletic achievements as a child.^[8]

Education and Army Tenure

After having graduated from high school at the age of sixteen,^[9] Mitchell attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine where he worked several jobs and played on the basketball team.^[10] He graduated in 1954, intending to attend graduate school and then teach but instead served in the United States Army from 1954 to 1956, rising to First Lieutenant. In 1961, Mitchell received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center by attending their part time program at night. He has since received an honorary LL.D. from Bates College.

Political career

Early Legal Career

After having performed well academically at Georgetown, Mitchell served as a trial attorney for the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice in Washington, from 1960 to 1962, and then as executive assistant to Senator Edmund S. Muskie from 1962 to 1965, where he first gained interest in the political world.^[11] Afterwards, Mitchell practiced law in Portland, Maine, from 1965 to 1977 and was assistant county attorney for Cumberland County, Maine in 1971.

From Judge to Senator

Senator George Mitchell

In 1974 he won the Democratic nomination for governor of Maine, defeating Joseph Brennan. Mitchell lost in the general election to independent candidate James B. Longley, but was appointed United States Attorney for Maine by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Mitchell served in that capacity from 1977 to 1979 when he was appointed to the United States District Court for the District of Maine. Mitchell served as a federal judge until he was appointed to the United States Senate in May 1980 by the governor of Maine, Joseph Brennan, when Edmund Muskie resigned to become U.S. Secretary of State.

After having served out the remainder of Muskie's term, Mitchell was elected to his first full term in 1982 with approximately 61% of the vote and rose quickly in the Senate Democratic leadership. He was elected as the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 1984 helping the Democrats regain control of the Senate from in 1986 with a net eight new seats and a 55-45 majority in the Senate. He served as Deputy President pro tempore in 1987–1988, because of the illness of President pro tempore John C. Stennis and remains the only Senator other than Hubert Humphrey to have held that post.

In 1988 Mitchell was reelected with 81% of the vote, the largest margin of victory in a Senate election that year and the largest majority ever for a Senator from Maine.

Senate Majority Leader

After an impressive performance facing Oliver North at the Iran-Contra affair hearings,^[12] he was elected as Senate Majority Leader in 1988. He then served in this role from 1989 to 1995. Among his accomplishments in this role, Mitchell led the movement to reauthorize the Clean Air Act in 1990 and pass the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Additionally, under his leadership, the Senate approved of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the formation of the World Trade Organization.

In 1994, he turned down an appointment by President Bill Clinton to the United States Supreme Court,^[13] to replace the retiring Harry A. Blackmun so that he could continue helping with efforts in the Senate to pass significant health care legislation. The seat ultimately went to Stephen Breyer. Nevertheless, congress was not able to pass any significant health care legislation at the time and Mitchell did not run for reelection in 1994.

After the Senate

After leaving the Senate, Mitchell joined the Washington, D.C. law firm Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand; he later became the firm's chairman. He was criticized for lobbying on behalf of the firm's Big Tobacco clients.^[14][15] He is also senior counsel to Preti, Flaherty, Beliveau, Pachios, Orlick & Haley in Portland, Maine. He is Partner and Chairman of the Global Board of DLA Piper, US LLP, a global law firm.

Democratic politics

Senate portrait of Majority Leader George Mitchell

Mitchell was reportedly among those considered by Al Gore as a running mate for his 2000 presidential run. Gore, however, ultimately selected Joe Lieberman.^[16] Had Mitchell been nominated and the Democratic ticket won that year, he would have been the first Arab American to serve as the Vice President of the United States and just the second Vice President from Maine after Hannibal Hamlin. He also has been mentioned in both 2000 and in 2004 as a potential Secretary of State for a Democratic administration, due to his role as Senate Leader and the Good Friday agreements.

Education

Since 2002, Mitchell has been a Senior Fellow and Senior Research Scholar at the Columbia University's Center for International Conflict Resolution, where he works to help end or avert conflicts between nations. He was the Chancellor of the Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland until his resignation in April 2009, and namesake of the George J. Mitchell Scholarship, which sponsors graduate study for twelve Americans each year in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. He is the founder of the Mitchell Institute, in Portland, Maine, whose mission is to increase the likelihood that young people from every community in Maine will aspire to, pursue and achieve a college education.^[17] In 2007, he became a visiting Professor in Leeds Metropolitan University's School of Applied Global Ethics, and the University is developing a new Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution bearing his name.^[18]

Mitchell Report (Arab-Israeli conflict)

Main article: Mitchell Report (Arab–Israeli conflict)

Mitchell led an American fact-finding commission initiated under President Bill Clinton in 2000 intended to find solutions for solving the situation between Israel and the Palestinians. Mitchell's report was published in 2001. It stressed the need for Israel to halt the expansion of its settlements in the Palestinian territories and for the Palestinians to prevent violence. Interest in the report was renewed^[19] when Mitchell was named special envoy for the Middle East in 2009.

United Nations

He served as co-chairman (with Newt Gingrich) of the Congressionally mandated Task Force on the United Nations, which released its findings and recommendations on June 15, 2005 after having been formed that January.

Northern Ireland peace process

Since 1995, he has been active in the Northern Ireland peace process as the United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland. Mitchell first led a commission that established the principles on non-violence to which all parties in Northern Ireland had to adhere and subsequently chaired the all-party peace negotiations, which led to the Belfast Peace Agreement signed on Good Friday 1998 (known since as the "Good Friday Agreement"). Mitchell's personal intervention with the parties was crucial to the success of the talks. He was succeeded as special envoy by Richard Haass.

For his involvement in the Northern Ireland peace negotiations, Mitchell was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom^[20] (on March 17, 1999) and the Liberty Medal (on July 4, 1998). Mitchell, in accepting the Liberty Medal, stated: "I believe there’s no such thing as a conflict that can’t be ended. They’re created and sustained by human beings. They can be ended by human beings. No matter how ancient the conflict, no matter how hateful, no matter how hurtful, peace can prevail."^[21]

Additionally, he was nominated for a Nobel Prize. For his services to the Northern Ireland peace process, in 1999 Mitchell was invested with an honorary knighthood - the Insignia of a GBE, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire. As custom dictates, Mitchell cannot call himself "Sir George" as he is not a citizen of the United Kingdom or a Commonwealth of Nations country, and as a United States Citizen can not accept a title of nobility.

Chairman of Disney

On March 4, 2004, Disney's board of directors, on which he had served since 1995, named him Michael Eisner's replacement as Chairman of the Board after 43% of the company's shares were voted against Eisner's reelection (35% was the minimum for disposal). Mitchell himself received a 24% negative vote,^[22] a fact that led dissident Disney shareholders Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold to criticize the appointment of Mitchell, whom they saw as Eisner's puppet.

Having already served on the boards of such companies as Xerox, Starwood, Fedex, and Staples, Mitchell assumed his new role at a particularly tumultuous time in the company's history, needing to face such issues as Comcast's hostile takeover attempts and a possible split with Pixar.^[23] Mitchell played an important role in the selection of Robert A. Iger as Eisner's successor as CEO in 2005.^[24] On June 28, 2006, Disney announced that its board had elected one of its members, John Pepper, Jr., former CEO of Procter & Gamble, to replace Mitchell as chairman effective January 1, 2007.^[25]

Baseball's steroids investigation

Media coverage of the report

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: George J. Mitchell

Main article: Mitchell Report (baseball)

In 2006, Mitchell was tapped by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig to lead an investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs by Major League Baseball players. The investigation largely derived from charges against Barry Bonds, and revelations in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) trials of Victor Conte and Greg Anderson. Selig has said that revelations brought forth in the 2005 book "Game of Shadows" were, by way of calling attention to the issue, in part responsible for the league's decision to commission an independent investigation. To this day he is known to have held meetings with only two active players, Jason Giambi, who was ordered to meet Mitchell by Commissioner Selig in light of his public admissions on the issue, and one additional player whose name was initially not made public but was later revealed to be Frank Thomas.^[26] Mitchell did however hold extensive meetings with several known steroid dealers, club attendants, personal trainers, and others who had ties to all players named in the report. Even though the union that protects the players had pressured all but Giambi and Thomas into maintaining the culture of silence that had helped the drug problem remain a secret, there was plenty of other evidence against those named in his report.

Mitchell released a 409-page report of his findings on December 13, 2007.^[27] The report includes the names of 89 former and current players for whom it claims evidence of use of steroids or other prohibited substances exists. This list includes names of Most Valuable Players and All-Stars, such as Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Miguel Tejada, Denny Neagle, Paul Lo Duca, David Justice, Barry Bonds, Eric Gagné, Todd Hundley, Randy Velarde, and Benito Santiago.

Middle East special envoy

This section requires expansion.

On January 22, 2009, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appointed Mitchell as a special envoy to the Middle East.^[28] The appointment was seen as an indication of the central role the Middle East had assumed under the newly formed Obama administration. The choice also allowed Obama to demonstrate his good intentions regarding the Middle East without being forced to embark on a new initiative when the conditions are not ripe. An analyst at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars said Mitchell's appointment "says to the world, 'I care about this issue; be patient with me.'"^[28] Abraham Foxman, the National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, has stated that, "Sen. Mitchell is fair. He’s been meticulously even-handed."^[29]

Within the first week of his appointment, Mitchell was dispatched to visit Israel, the West Bank, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia for peace discussions in light of the 2008-09 Gaza War between Israel and the Gaza Strip, in which both sides had recently entered into unilateral ceasefires. Mitchell began his meetings in Cairo on January 27, and Obama said his visit was part of the President's campaign promise to listen to both sides of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and negotiate a peace deal. However, in a continuation of a George W. Bush administration policy, Mitchell did not plan to talk to Hamas, a group the West has identified as a terrorist organization, but instead focus on talks with the Palestinian National Authority.^[30] Mitchell was due to meet first with new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February 2009^[31] and has met with many notable figures of the Middle East since.

Personal Life

Mitchell is married with three children. On August 10, 2007, it was reported that Senator Mitchell had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.^[32]

Electoral history

U.S. Senate (General Election)
Year	Candidate	Party	Pct	Opponent	Party	Pct
1982	George Mitchell (inc.)1	Democratic	61%	Dave Emery	Republican	39%
1988	George Mitchell (inc.)	Democratic	81%	Jasper Wyman	Republican	19%

¹ Previously appointed to the office by then-Governor Joe Brennan in 1980 following the resignation of Ed Muskie to become Secretary of State

See also

• Sigma Nu LEADership learning program
• Bill Clinton Supreme Court candidates

Books

• Great American Lighthouses (August 1989)
• World on Fire: Saving an Endangered Earth (January 1991)
• Not For America Alone: The Triumph of Democracy and The Fall of Communism (May 1997)
• Making Peace (April 1999 — 1st Edition, July 2000 — Updated)

References

1. ^ http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hI-M8gm8ye6v7zKUgtge74ycpbwA
2. ^ http://digilib.bates.edu/gsdl/cgi-bin/library?e=d-01000-00---0muskieor--00-1--0-10-0---0---0prompt-10---4-------0-1l--11-en-50---20-about---01-3-1-00-0011-1-0utfZz-8-00&a=d&c=muskieor&cl=CL1.248&d=HASH0122fb46ad7930c276fbed5e
3. ^ "Middle East Envoy George Mitchell". Time Magazine. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1873532,00.html. Retrieved 2009-09-21. 
4. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/22/AR2009012203303_pf.html
5. ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_n24_v217/ai_15434788/
6. ^ http://digilib.bates.edu/gsdl/cgi-bin/library?e=d-01000-00---0muskieor--00-1--0-10-0---0---0prompt-10---4-------0-1l--11-en-50---20-about---01-3-1-00-0011-1-0utfZz-8-00&a=d&c=muskieor&cl=CL1.248&d=HASH0122fb46ad7930c276fbed5e
7. ^ "George Mitchell Interview". Academy of Achievement. http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/mit0int-1. Retrieved 2009-09-22. 
8. ^ "George Mitchell Interview". Academy of Achievement. http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/mit0int-1. Retrieved 2009-09-21. 
9. ^ "George Mitchell Interview". Academy of Achievement. http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/mit0int-1. Retrieved 2009-09-21. 
10. ^ "Middle East Envoy George Mitchell". Time Magazine. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1873532,00.html. Retrieved 2009-09-21. 
11. ^ "George Mitchell Interview". Academy of Achievement. http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/mit0int-1. Retrieved 2009-09-22. 
12. ^ http://www.answers.com/topic/george-j-mitchell Biography from Answers.com
13. ^ http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1873532,00.html
14. ^ Weisberg, Jacob (1997-08-10). "Liberal Tobacco Whores". Slate Magazine. http://www.slate.com/id/2281/. Retrieved 2009-01-22. 
15. ^ Dowd, Maureen (1998-05-17). "Liberties; Nicotine-Stained Halo". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0DE1DC1E30F934A25756C0A96E958260. Retrieved 2009-01-22. 
16. ^ King, John (2000-07-14). "Gore considering naming VP immediately after GOP convention". CNN. http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/07/13/gore.veep/index.html. Retrieved 2009-01-22. 
17. ^ The Mitchell Institute Website
18. ^ "Senator George Mitchell Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution". Leeds Metropolitan University. 2004. http://www.leedsmet.ac.uk/international/754DAC6EAAE94420B396FA6018BB1930.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-22. 
19. ^ Obama's New Middle East Envoy, 01/23/2009
20. ^ . "Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Senator George J. Mitchell, United States Senate Majority Leader". Medal of Freedom.com. 2007. http://www.medaloffreedom.com/GeorgeMitchell.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-22. 
21. ^ 1998 Recipient George Mitchell - Liberty Medal - National Constitution Center
22. ^ Holson, Laura M. (2004-03-10). "Former P. & G. Chief Named Disney Chairman". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/10/business/market-place-eisner-vote-forces-disney-to-catch-up.html?scp=2&sq=Mitchell%20Eisner&st=cse&pagewanted=1. Retrieved 2009-04-03. 
23. ^ Holson, Laura M.; Hulse, Carl (2004-03-05). "Disney's No. 2 Officer to Take Charge in September". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/05/business/for-a-diplomat-task-is-quelling-disney-s-unrest.html?scp=9&sq=Mitchell%20Disney&st=cse&pagewanted=2. Retrieved 2009-04-03. 
24. ^ Holson, Laura M. (2005-03-14). "http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/14/business/media/14disney.html?scp=9&sq=Mitchell%20Disney&st=cse". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/14/business/media/14disney.html?scp=9&sq=Mitchell%20Disney&st=cse. Retrieved 2009-04-03. 
25. ^ Holson, Laura M. (2006-06-29). "MARKET PLACE; Eisner Vote Forces Disney To Catch Up". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/29/business/media/29disney.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=Mitchell%20Pepper&st=cse. Retrieved 2009-04-03. 
26. ^ Curry, Jack (2007-12-15). "One Player Who Spoke With Mitchell Wonders Why So Few Others Did". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/15/sports/baseball/15talk.html?scp=1&sq=George+Mitchell+THomas&st=nyt. Retrieved 2009-04-03. 
27. ^ "Year after Mitchell Report, MLB tries to move on". Yahoo.com. 2008. http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AkmfjL.Fcj4.SfSR7AoKVmA5nYcB?slug=ap-mitchellreport&prov=ap&type=lgns. Retrieved 2009-01-22. 
28. ^ ^{a b} Landler, Mark (2009-01-21). "Seasoned Negotiator to Serve as a Mideast Envoy". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/us/politics/22diplo.html?_r=1&hp. Retrieved 2009-01-22. 
29. ^ Besser, James D. (2009-01-21). "Mitchell As Envoy Could Split Center". The Jewish Week. http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c37_a14675/News/National.html. Retrieved 2009-02-09. 
30. ^ Witte, Griff. "Blast at Gaza Border Kills Israeli Soldier; Palestinian Farmer Killed by Gunfire." The Washington Post, January 28, 2009. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
31. ^ http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1067150.html
32. ^ Quinn, T.J. (2007-08-10). "Mitchell diagnosed with cancer". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/2007/08/10/2007-08-10_mitchell_diagnosed_with_cancer.html. Retrieved 2009-01-22. 

Further reading

• Gould, Alberta. George Mitchell: In Search of Peace. Farmington, Maine: Heritage Pub., 1996

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: George Mitchell

• Interview with George Mitchell

• George J. Mitchell at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Interview with George J. Mitchell by Don Nicoll, May 2, 2002 – summary sheet, transcript and audio link at Bates College Digital Library

Legal offices
Preceded by None (new seat)	Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine October 5, 1979 - May 16, 1980	Succeeded by Conrad Keefe Cyr
United States Senate
Preceded by Ed Muskie (D)	United States Senator (Class 1) from Maine May 17, 1980 – January 3, 1995 Served alongside: William S. Cohen	Succeeded by Olympia Snowe (R)
Political offices
Preceded by Hubert Humphrey (D-Minnesota)	Deputy President pro tempore of the United States Senate 1987–1988	Succeeded by Most recent
Preceded by Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia)	United States Senate Majority Leader January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1995	Succeeded by Bob Dole (R-Kansas)
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by (none)	United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland 1995 – 1998	Succeeded by Richard Haass
Preceded by (none)	United States Special Envoy to Middle East January 22, 2009 - present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Edmund Muskie	Democratic nominee for United States Senator from Maine (Class 1) 1982, 1988	Succeeded by Thomas Andrews
Preceded by Lloyd Bentsen Texas	Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee 1985–1987	Succeeded by John Kerry Massachusetts
Preceded by Robert C. Byrd West Virginia	Senate Democratic Leader 1989–1995	Succeeded by Tom Daschle South Dakota
Business positions
Preceded by Michael Eisner	Disney Chairman 2004–2007	Succeeded by John E. Pepper, Jr.

v • d • e United States Senators from Maine Class 1 Holmes • Parris • Holmes • Shepley • Dana • Williams • Fairfield • Moor • Hamlin • Nourse • Hamlin • Morrill • Hamlin • E. Hale • Johnson • F. Hale • Brewster • Payne • Muskie • Mitchell • Snowe Class 2 Chandler • Sprague • Ruggles • Evans • Bradbury • Fessenden • Farwell • Fessenden • Morrill • Blaine • Frye • Gardner • Burleigh • Fernald • Gould • White • Smith • Hathaway • Cohen • Collins

v • d • e United States Senate Majority Leaders Lodge • Curtis • Watson • Robinson • Barkley • White • Lucas • McFarland • Taft • Knowland • Johnson • Mansfield • Byrd • Baker • Dole • Byrd • Mitchell • Dole • Lott • Daschle • Lott • Daschle • Frist • Reid

v • d • e Democratic Party Leaders in the United States Senate Underwood • Robinson • Barkley • Lucas • McFarland • Johnson • Mansfield • Byrd • Mitchell • Daschle • Reid

v • d • e Deputy Presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate Hubert Humphrey • George J. Mitchell

v • d • e Chairmen of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Johnston • Ford • Bentsen • Mitchell • Kerry • Breaux • Robb • Graham • Kerrey • Torricelli • Murray • Corzine • Schumer • Menendez

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