Adlai Stevenson III
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| Adlai Ewing Stevenson III | |
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| In office November 17, 1970 – January 2, 1981 |
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| Preceded by | Ralph Tyler Smith |
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| Succeeded by | Alan J. Dixon |
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| Born | October 10, 1930 Chicago, Illinois |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Religion | Unitarian |
Adlai Ewing Stevenson III (born October 10, 1930, in Chicago) is an American politician of the Democratic Party. He represented the state of Illinois in the United States Senate from 1970 until 1981.
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[edit] Education, military service, and early career
He received a law degree in (1957).
Stevenson was commissioned as a in the U.S. Marine Corps and was discharged as a first lieutenant. He continued to serve in the Marine Reserves and was discharged in 1961 as a captain.
In 1957, Stevenson went to work as a clerk for a Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court and worked there until 1958 when he joined the law firm of Brown and Platt.
[edit] Political Career
In 1964, Stevenson was elected an Illinois state representative, in which capacity he served from 1965 to 1967. He then served as Illinois state treasurer (1967–1970).
After U.S. Senator Everett Dirksen (R-Ill.) died in office in 1969 and Ralph Tyler Smith was appointed to the seat, Stevenson defeated Smith in a special election to fill Dirksen's unexpired term. Stevenson was re-elected to the seat in 1974, serving in the U.S. Senate from 1970 to 1981. In 1980, Stevenson declined to stand for re-election to the Senate.
Stevenson was encouraged to run for President in 1976 by Mayor Richard J. Daley of Chicago, declined and was one of the finalists for Vice President at the Democratic Convention that year.
[edit] Post-Senate political career
Stevenson ran for Governor of Illinois in 1982 and 1986, losing both elections to James R. Thompson. In 1982 the initial vote count showed Stevenson winning; however, the final official count showed him losing by 1/7 of one percent. Stevenson promptly petitioned the Illinois Supreme Court for a recount and presented evidence of widespread election irregularities, including evidence of a failed punch card system for tabulation of votes (later to become infamous in the presidential election of 2000). Three days before the gubernatorial inauguration, the Court, by a one vote margin, denied the recount, asserting that the Illinois recount statute was unconstitutional. Several young Thompson staffers were later convicted of vote fraud in that campaign.
In the 1986 campaign for Governor, in a fluke, two followers of Lyndon LaRouche won the Democratic Party primary nominations for Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State. Stevenson objected to their platform and refused to appear on the same ticket. Instead, he organized the Solidarity Party to provide an alternate slate for Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State, which was duly endorsed by the regular Democratic organization. Persuading Democrats to vote a regular Democratic ticket and then cross over to also vote for the Solidarity candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor and Secretary of State was doomed to fail; however, Stevenson and the candidate for Lieutenant Governor position, Mike Howlett, won 40% of the vote.
[edit] Post-political career
Since leaving the Senate, Stevenson has also been active in East Asia as Chairman of SC&M Investment Management Company, Co Chairman of HuaMei Capital Company (first Sino US investment bank) former Chairman, Japan America Society of Chicago, former Chairman, Midwest US Japan Association, former President US Committee of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council, Co Chairman PECC Financial Market Development Project, Member US-Korea Wisemen Council, Member, Board of Korean Economic Institute, Chairman, Midwest US China Association, as well as other business and not for profit capacities.
Stevenson honors include Order of the Sacred Treasurer from Government of Japan and Honorary Professor Renmin University, PR China.
[edit] Political family history
Stevenson's great-grandfather Adlai E. Stevenson I was vice president of the United States (1893–1897). His grandfather Lewis G. Stevenson was Illinois secretary of state (1914–1917). His father, Adlai E. Stevenson II, was governor of Illinois and two time Democratic presidential nominee. Actor McLean Stevenson was his third cousin.
Adlai Stevenson IV, Stevenson III's son, became a television reporter in Chicago in the 1980's. It is reported that when asked if he liked his name, he said he intended to become "Adlai the Last". This was not to be; in the fall of 1994, Adlai Ewing Stevenson V was born.
[edit] References
- Baker, Jean H. (1996). The Stevensons: A Biography of An American Family. New York: W. W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-393-03874-2.
[edit] External links
- Adlai Stevenson III at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Political Science: Analysis of the 1986 election "debacle" in Illinois
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Ralph Tyler Smith |
United States Senator (Class 3) from Illinois 1970–1981 Served alongside: Charles H. Percy |
Succeeded by Alan J. Dixon |
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