George J. Mitchell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
George Mitchell
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Mitchell in 1980
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| United States Special Envoy for Middle East Peace | |
| In office January 22, 2009 – May 13, 2011 |
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| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Anthony Zinni (2003) |
| Succeeded by | David Hale |
| Vice Chair of the 9/11 Commission | |
| In office November 27, 2002 – December 11, 2002 |
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| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Lee Hamilton |
| 8th Chancellor of the Queen's University, Belfast | |
| In office May 5, 1999 – March 29, 2009 |
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| Preceded by | David Orr |
| Succeeded by | Kamalesh Sharma |
| United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland | |
| In office January 3, 1995 – January 20, 2001 |
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| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Richard N. Haass |
| Senate Majority Leader | |
| In office January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1995 |
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| Deputy | Alan Cranston Wendell Ford |
| Preceded by | Robert Byrd |
| Succeeded by | Bob Dole |
| Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus | |
| In office January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1995 |
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| Preceded by | Robert Byrd |
| Succeeded by | Tom Daschle |
| Deputy President pro tempore of the United States Senate | |
| In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1989 |
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| President | John C. Stennis |
| Preceded by | Hubert Humphrey (1978) |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| United States Senator from Maine |
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| In office May 17, 1980 – January 3, 1995 |
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| Preceded by | Edmund Muskie |
| Succeeded by | Olympia Snowe |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maine | |
| In office October 5, 1979 – May 16, 1980 |
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| Appointed by | Jimmy Carter |
| Preceded by | Seat established |
| Succeeded by | Conrad K. Cyr |
| United States Attorney for the District of Maine | |
| In office 1977–1979 |
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| President | Jimmy Carter |
| Preceded by | S. Peter Mills Jr. |
| Succeeded by | James Brannigan |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
George John Mitchell Jr.
August 20, 1933 Waterville, Maine, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses |
Sally Heath
(m. 1961; div. 1987)Heather MacLachlan
(m. 1994) |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Bowdoin College (BA) Georgetown University (LLB) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1954–1956 |
| Rank | First Lieutenant |
| Unit | Counterintelligence Corps |
George John Mitchell Jr. (born August 20, 1933) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He is a well-known member of the Democratic Party. He served as a United States senator for Maine from 1980 to 1995. He was also the Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995.
After leaving the Senate, Mitchell played a big role in peace talks. These talks were for Northern Ireland and the Middle East. President Bill Clinton made him the United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland (1995–2001). Later, President Barack Obama appointed him as the United States Special Envoy for Middle East Peace (2009–2011).
Mitchell helped create the 1996 Mitchell Principles and the 1998 Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland. He also led two important investigations, called "Mitchell Reports." One was about the conflict between Arabs and Israelis (2001). The other was about the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball (2007).
Mitchell was the chairman of the Walt Disney Company from 2004 to 2007. He also served as Chancellor of Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from 1999 to 2009. He is one of the few people in modern times to have worked in all three parts of the U.S. federal government: the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
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Early Life and Education
Growing Up in Maine
George Mitchell was born in Waterville, Maine. His father, George John Mitchell Sr., was born in Ireland. He was adopted by a Lebanese American family after becoming an orphan. Mitchell's father worked as a janitor at Colby College. His mother, Mary, came to the United States from Bkassine, Lebanon, when she was 18. She worked in a textile factory.
Mitchell grew up as a Maronite Catholic. He was an altar boy at his church. During junior high and high school, he also worked as a janitor. He was a very smart student.
College and Military Service
After high school, Mitchell went to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. He worked several jobs to pay for college and played on the basketball team. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1954.
He then served in the United States Army from 1954 to 1956. He became a First Lieutenant. In 1961, Mitchell earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. He studied at night while working.
Political Career
Starting in Law and Politics
After law school, Mitchell worked as a lawyer for the United States Department of Justice. This was from 1960 to 1962. Then, he became an assistant to Senator Edmund S. Muskie from 1962 to 1965. This is where he first became interested in politics.
Later, Mitchell practiced law in Portland, Maine. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed him as the United States Attorney for Maine. He served in this role until 1979.
From Judge to Senator
In 1979, President Carter nominated Mitchell to be a judge for the United States District Court for the District of Maine. He became a judge on October 5, 1979. However, he resigned in May 1980.
This was because the governor of Maine, Joseph Brennan, appointed him to the United States Senate. He filled the seat left by Edmund Muskie, who became the US Secretary of State.
Mitchell was elected to his first full Senate term in 1982. He won with about 61 percent of the votes. He quickly became a leader in the Senate Democratic Party. He helped Democrats gain control of the Senate in 1986.
In 1988, Mitchell was reelected with 81 percent of the vote. This was the largest victory margin for a senator from Maine ever.
Mitchell supported important laws like the one creating Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national holiday. He also supported the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987.
Leading the Senate
Mitchell served as the Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995. In this role, he helped pass major laws. These included updating the Clean Air Act in 1990. He also helped pass the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Under his leadership, the Senate also approved the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). They also approved the creation of the World Trade Organization.
In 1994, President Bill Clinton offered Mitchell a seat on the United States Supreme Court. Mitchell turned it down. He wanted to keep working on health-care laws in the Senate. However, Congress did not pass any major health-care laws at that time. Mitchell did not run for reelection in 1994.
After the Senate
Working with Companies and Organizations
After leaving the Senate, Mitchell joined several company boards. These included Walt Disney Company, FedEx, Xerox, and the Boston Red Sox baseball team. He also became the chairman of a global law firm, DLA Piper.
In 2007, Mitchell helped start the Bipartisan Policy Center. This group works to find solutions that both major political parties can agree on.
Mitchell was considered as a possible running mate for Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election. If he had been chosen and won, he would have been the first Lebanese American Vice President.
Focus on Education and Peace
Since 2002, Mitchell has been a Senior Fellow at Columbia University. He works to help end conflicts between countries. He was also the Chancellor of the Queen's University of Belfast in Northern Ireland until 2009.
A special scholarship, the George J. Mitchell Scholarship, is named after him. It helps American students study in Ireland and Northern Ireland. He also started the Mitchell Institute in Maine. This group helps young people from Maine go to college.
The Mitchell Report on the Middle East
In 2000, President Bill Clinton asked Mitchell to lead a group to find solutions for the situation between Israel and the Palestinians. Mitchell's report, published in 2001, said that Israel should stop building settlements. It also said Palestinians needed to prevent violence.
Interest in this report grew when Mitchell was named Special Envoy for Middle East Peace in 2009.
Helping Peace in Northern Ireland
Since 1995, Mitchell has been very involved in the Northern Ireland peace process. He was the United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland under President Bill Clinton. He led a group that created the Mitchell Principles. These principles helped guide peace talks.
Mitchell then helped lead the all-party talks that resulted in the Belfast Agreement. This agreement, signed in 1998, is also known as the "Good Friday Agreement." Mitchell's ability to help different groups talk was key to the success of these peace talks.
For his work in Northern Ireland, Mitchell received the Liberty Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998. He once said, "I believe there's no such thing as a conflict that can't be ended."
Chairman of Disney
On March 4, 2004, Mitchell became the Chairman of the Board for Walt Disney Company. He had been on Disney's board since 1995. He took on this role during a challenging time for the company.
Mitchell helped choose Robert A. Iger as the new CEO of Disney in 2005. He left his role as chairman on January 1, 2007.
Baseball's Steroids Investigation
In 2006, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig asked Mitchell to lead an investigation. This investigation looked into the use of performance-enhancing drugs by Major League Baseball players.
Mitchell released a 409-page report on December 13, 2007. The report named 89 current and former players. It said there was evidence they used steroids or other banned substances. This list included famous players like Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds.
Some people criticized Mitchell because he was a director of the Boston Red Sox. They noted that no prime Red Sox players were named in the report. Mitchell said that his report was fair and showed no special treatment.
Special Envoy for Middle East Peace
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On January 22, 2009, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appointed Mitchell as the Special Envoy for Middle East Peace. This showed that the new Obama administration wanted to focus more on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.
Mitchell traveled to the Middle East to discuss peace. He met with leaders in Israel, the West Bank, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. He aimed to listen to both sides and work towards a peace deal.
On May 13, 2011, Mitchell resigned from this role. President Obama praised him for his dedication to solving conflicts.
Personal Life
Mitchell was married to Sally Heath for 26 years. They had a daughter named Andrea. They divorced in 1987. In 1994, he married Heather MacLachlan. They have a son, Andrew, and a daughter, Claire.
In 2007, Mitchell was diagnosed with a mild form of prostate cancer. In 2020, he was diagnosed with acute leukemia. By April 2023, he said he was "pain-free and in remission."
Awards and Honors
In 1994, Mitchell received the US Senator John Heinz Award for Public Service.
For his work in the Northern Ireland peace process, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Liberty Medal. He was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998. In 1999, he was made an Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE).
In 2002, he received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement. In 2003, he received the Freedom Medal.
On January 28, 2014, a portrait of Mitchell was put on display at the Maine State Capitol. On April 10, 2018, he received the Freedom of the City of Belfast award.
Books
- (with Senator William Cohen, co-author) Men of Zeal: A Candid Inside Story of the Iran-Contra Hearings (September 1988) ISBN: 978-0670822522
- World on Fire: Saving an Endangered Earth (January 1991) ISBN: 978-0684192314
- Not For America Alone: The Triumph of Democracy and The Fall of Communism (May 1997) ISBN: 978-1568360836
- Making Peace (April 1999 – 1st Edition, July 2000 – Updated) ISBN: 978-0434007554 ISBN: 978-1501153914
- The Negotiator: A Memoir (May 2015) ISBN: 978-1451691399
- (with Alon Sachar, co-author) A Path to Peace: A Brief History of Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations and a Way Forward in the Middle East (November 2016) ISBN: 978-1501153914
See also
In Spanish: George J. Mitchell para niños
- Bill Clinton Supreme Court candidates
- List of Arab and Middle-Eastern Americans in the United States Congress
