George J. Mitchell

"Senator Mitchell" redirects here. For other uses, see Senator Mitchell (disambiguation).

George Mitchell
Mitchell in 1980
United States Special Envoy for Middle East Peace
In office
January 22, 2009 – May 13, 2011
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byAnthony Zinni (2003)
Succeeded byDavid Hale
Vice Chair of the 9/11 Commission
In office
November 27, 2002 – December 11, 2002[1]
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byLee Hamilton
8th Chancellor of the Queen's University, Belfast
In office
May 5, 1999 – March 29, 2009
Preceded byDavid Orr
Succeeded byKamalesh Sharma
United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland
In office
January 3, 1995 – January 20, 2001
PresidentBill Clinton
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byRichard N. Haass
Senate Majority Leader
In office
January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1995
DeputyAlan Cranston
Wendell Ford
Preceded byRobert Byrd
Succeeded byBob Dole
Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus
In office
January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1995
Preceded byRobert Byrd
Succeeded byTom Daschle
Deputy President pro tempore of the United States Senate
In office
January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1989
PresidentJohn C. Stennis
Preceded byHubert Humphrey (1978)
Succeeded byVacant
United States Senator
from Maine
In office
May 17, 1980 – January 3, 1995
Preceded byEdmund Muskie
Succeeded byOlympia Snowe
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maine
In office
October 5, 1979 – May 16, 1980
Appointed byJimmy Carter
Preceded bySeat established
Succeeded byConrad K. Cyr
United States Attorney for the District of Maine
In office
1977–1979
PresidentJimmy Carter
Preceded byS. Peter Mills Jr.
Succeeded byJames Brannigan
Personal details
Born
George John Mitchell Jr.

(1933-08-20) August 20, 1933 (age 91)
Waterville, Maine, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouses
Sally Heath
​
​
(m. 1961; div. 1987)​
Heather MacLachlan
​
(m. 1994)​
Children3
EducationBowdoin College (BA)
Georgetown University (LLB)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1954–1956
RankFirst Lieutenant
UnitCounterintelligence Corps
George J. Mitchell's voice
George J. Mitchell urges the George H. W. Bush administration to take a stronger lead on climate change
Recorded February 18, 1992

George John Mitchell Jr. (born August 20, 1933)[2] is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. A leading member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from Maine from 1980 to 1995, and as Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995. After retiring from the Senate, Mitchell played a leading role in negotiations for peace in Northern Ireland and the Middle East. He was appointed United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland (1995–2001) by President Clinton and as United States Special Envoy for Middle East Peace (2009–2011) by President Barack Obama.

Mitchell was a primary architect of the 1996 Mitchell Principles and the 1998 Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, and was the main investigator in two "Mitchell Reports": one on the Arab–Israeli conflict (2001); and one on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball (2007).

Mitchell served as chairman of the Walt Disney Company from 2004 until 2007, and later as chairman of the international law firm DLA Piper. He was the Chancellor of Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from 1999 to 2009. Mitchell also has served as a co-chair of the Housing Commission at the Bipartisan Policy Center.[3] He is one of the few people in modern times to have served in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the federal government.

  1. ^ Barrett, Ted; Karl, Jonathan (December 11, 2002). "Mitchell quits 9/11 probe". CNN. Archived from the original on September 9, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  2. ^ "Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress - Retro Member details". Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  3. ^ Bipartisan Policy Center's Housing Commission Archived October 31, 2011, at the Wayback Machine