Alan Cranston

Alan Cranston
United States Senator
from California
In office
January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1993
Preceded byThomas Kuchel
Succeeded byBarbara Boxer
Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee
In office
January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1993
Preceded byFrank Murkowski
Succeeded byJay Rockefeller
In office
January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1981
Preceded byVance Hartke
Succeeded byAlan K. Simpson
Senate Majority Whip
In office
January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1991
LeaderRobert Byrd
George Mitchell
Preceded byAlan K. Simpson
Succeeded byWendell Ford
In office
January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1981
LeaderRobert Byrd
Preceded byRobert Byrd
Succeeded byTed Stevens
Senate Minority Whip
In office
January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1987
LeaderRobert Byrd
Preceded byTed Stevens
Succeeded byAlan K. Simpson
25th Controller of California
In office
January 5, 1959 – January 2, 1967
GovernorPat Brown
Preceded byRobert C. Kirkwood
Succeeded byHouston I. Flournoy
Personal details
Born
Alan MacGregor Cranston

(1914-06-19)June 19, 1914
Palo Alto, California, U.S.
DiedDecember 31, 2000(2000-12-31) (aged 86)
Los Altos, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouses
Geneva McMath
(m. 1940; div. 1977)
Norma Weintraub
(m. 1978; div. 1989)
Children2
EducationStanford University (BA)
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service1944–1945
Battles/warsWorld War II

Alan MacGregor Cranston (June 19, 1914 – December 31, 2000) was an American politician and journalist who served as a United States Senator from California from 1969 to 1993, and as President of the World Federalist Association from 1949 to 1952.

Born in Palo Alto, California, Cranston worked as a journalist after graduating from Stanford University. After serving as California State Controller, he was elected to the Senate in 1968. He served as the Senate Democratic Whip from 1977 to 1991. In 1984, Cranston sought the Democratic presidential nomination, advocating a nuclear freeze during the later stages of the Cold War. He dropped out after the first set of primaries.

In 1991, the Senate Ethics Committee reprimanded Cranston for his role in the savings and loan crisis as a member of the Keating Five. After being diagnosed with prostate cancer, he decided not to run for a fifth term. After his retirement from the Senate, he served as president of the Global Security Institute and advocated for the global abolition of nuclear weapons.