Senate positions

Senate Majority Leader
In office January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1995
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
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
President	John C. Stennis
Preceded by	Hubert Humphrey (1978)
Succeeded by	Vacant

Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maine

In office
October 5, 1979 – May 16, 1980

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

President

Jimmy Carter

Preceded by

S. Peter Mills Jr.

Succeeded by

James Brannigan

Personal details

Born

George John Mitchell Jr.

August 20, 1933 (age 91)
Waterville, Maine, U.S.

Political party

Democratic

Spouses

Sally Heath

(m. 1961; div. 1987)

Heather MacLachlan

(m. 1994)

Children

Education

Bowdoin College (BA)
Georgetown University (LLB)

Military service

Allegiance

United States

Branch

United States Army

Service years

1954–1956

Rank

First Lieutenant

Unit

Counterintelligence Corps

George John Mitchell Jr. (born August 20, 1933) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was a very important member of the Democratic Party. He served as a United States senator for Maine from 1980 to 1995. He also led the Senate as Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995.

After leaving the Senate, Mitchell became a key figure in peace talks. He helped with peace efforts in Northern Ireland and the Middle East. President Bill Clinton appointed him as United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland (1995–2001). Later, President Barack Obama made him the United States Special Envoy for Middle East Peace (2009–2011).

Mitchell helped create the 1996 Mitchell Principles and the 1998 Good Friday Agreement for Northern Ireland. He also led two important investigations, known as "Mitchell Reports." One was about the Arab–Israeli conflict (2001). The other was about the use of performance-enhancing substances in baseball (2007).

He was the chairman of the Walt Disney Company from 2004 to 2007. He also served as chairman of the international law firm DLA Piper. From 1999 to 2009, he was the Chancellor of Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Mitchell is one of the few people who have worked in all three parts of the U.S. federal government: the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

Early Life and Education
- Growing Up in Maine
- College and Military Service
Political Journey
After the Senate
Personal Life
Awards and Recognition
Books by George Mitchell
See also

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 in Waterville.

Mitchell's mother, Mary, came to the United States from Bkassine, Lebanon, when she was eighteen. She worked in a textile factory. George Mitchell was raised as a Maronite Catholic. He was an altar boy at his church.

As a child, he worked as a janitor through junior high and high school. He was a very smart student. His three brothers were all athletes, and he was often overshadowed by their sports achievements.

College and Military Service

After high school, Mitchell went to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, at age sixteen. He worked several jobs to pay for college and played on the basketball team. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1954.

He planned to go to graduate school and become a teacher. Instead, he joined the United States Army and served from 1954 to 1956. He became a first lieutenant. In 1961, Mitchell earned his law degree (Bachelor of Laws) from Georgetown University Law Center. He attended classes at night while working.

Political Journey

Starting His Legal Career

After doing well in law school, Mitchell worked as a lawyer for the United States Department of Justice from 1960 to 1962. He then became an assistant to Senator Edmund S. Muskie from 1962 to 1965. This is where he first became interested in politics.

After that, Mitchell worked as a lawyer in Portland, Maine, from 1965 to 1977. He also served as an assistant county attorney in 1971.

From Judge to Senator

In 1974, Mitchell ran for governor of Maine but did not win. However, President Jimmy Carter appointed him as the United States Attorney for Maine in 1977. He held this position until 1979.

President Carter then 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. He served as a judge until May 16, 1980, when he resigned.

In May 1980, the governor of Maine, Joseph E. Brennan, appointed Mitchell to the United States Senate. This happened when Senator Edmund Muskie resigned to become the United States Secretary of State.

Mitchell was elected to his first full Senate term in 1982. He quickly became a leader among the Democrats in the Senate. He helped the Democrats win back control of the Senate in 1986. He also served as Deputy President pro tempore in the 100th United States Congress.

In 1988, Mitchell was reelected by a very large number of votes. This was the biggest win for a senator from Maine ever.

Mitchell in 2009

Mitchell supported important laws like the one making Martin Luther King Jr. Day a federal holiday. He also supported the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987. He voted against some Supreme Court judge nominations, explaining his reasons clearly.

Leading the Senate

Mitchell was 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 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 position on the United States Supreme Court. Mitchell turned it down. He wanted to keep working in the Senate to pass important health-care laws. However, Congress did not pass any major health-care laws at that time. Mitchell decided not to run for reelection in 1994.

After the Senate

After leaving the Senate, George Mitchell joined the boards of many companies. These included Walt Disney Company, FedEx, Xerox, Unilever, Staples, Inc., Starwood, and the Boston Red Sox baseball team. He also became chairman of a global law firm, DLA Piper.

In 2007, Mitchell helped start the Bipartisan Policy Center. This group works to find solutions to problems that both major political parties can agree on.

Democratic Politics

Senate portrait of Majority Leader George Mitchell

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 to be the vice president. He was also mentioned as a possible Secretary of State for a Democratic president.

Education and Peace Efforts

Since 2002, Mitchell has been involved with 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.

There is a special scholarship named after him, the George J. Mitchell Scholarship. It helps twelve Americans study in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland each year. He also founded the Mitchell Institute in Portland, Maine. This institute helps young people from Maine go to college.

Mitchell Report on the Arab–Israeli Conflict

Mitchell led an American group in 2000 to find ways to solve the situation between Israel and the Palestinians. His report, published in 2001, said that Israel needed to stop building settlements. It also said that Palestinians needed to prevent violence. Interest in this report grew when Mitchell became Special Envoy for Middle East Peace in 2009.

Working for Peace in Northern Ireland

The Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security & Justice, established in 2016 at Queen's University Belfast

Since 1995, Mitchell has been very active in the Northern Ireland peace process. He served as the United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland under President Bill Clinton. He led a group that looked at how to remove weapons from armed groups. This led to the Mitchell Principles, which guided peace talks.

Mitchell then helped lead the all-party talks. These talks resulted in the Belfast Agreement, signed in 1998. This agreement is also known as the "Good Friday Agreement." Mitchell's ability to mediate between the different groups was very important for the talks to succeed.

For his work in Northern Ireland, Mitchell received the Liberty Medal in 1998 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1999. When he accepted the Liberty Medal, he said: "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." A documentary about his work on the Good Friday Agreement, called "The Negotiator," was released in 2025.

Chairman of Disney

On March 4, 2004, Mitchell became the Chairman of the Board for Disney. He had been on Disney's board since 1995. He took on this role during a challenging time for the company. He helped choose Robert A. Iger as the new CEO in 2005. Mitchell was replaced as chairman in January 2007.

Baseball's Investigation into Performance-Enhancing Substances

In 2006, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig asked Mitchell to lead an investigation. This investigation looked into the use of performance-enhancing substances by Major League Baseball players. The investigation came from concerns about players like Barry Bonds and information from the BALCO trials.

Mitchell released a 409-page report on December 13, 2007. The report included the names of 89 players. It stated that there was evidence they had used performance-enhancing substances. This list included famous players like Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds.

Some people criticized Mitchell because he was also a director of the Boston Red Sox. They worried this might affect the report. Mitchell said that anyone who read the report carefully would see there was no special treatment for the Red Sox.

Special Envoy for Middle East Peace

Mitchell, as Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, meets with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Mitchell, together with Benjamin Netanyahu, Mahmoud Abbas, and Hillary Clinton at the start of direct talks on September 2, 2010.

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 was very focused on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

Soon after his appointment, Mitchell visited Israel, the West Bank, Egypt, Jordan, and other countries. He held peace discussions after the 2008-09 Gaza War. He met with leaders like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On May 13, 2011, Mitchell resigned from this role. President Obama praised Mitchell's dedication to solving conflicts. He said Mitchell greatly helped the goal of Israel and Palestine living peacefully side by side.

Personal Life

George Mitchell was married to Sally Heath for 26 years. They divorced in 1987 and have a daughter named Andrea. In 1994, at age 61, he married Heather MacLachlan. They have a son, Andrew, and a daughter, Claire. Claire was named after Claire Bowes, who inspired him after being blinded in a bombing.

In 2007, Mitchell was diagnosed with a type of prostate cancer. In August 2020, he was diagnosed with acute leukemia. By April 2023, he shared that he was "pain-free and in remission."

Awards and Recognition

In 1994, Mitchell received the U.S. 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, Mitchell received the Freedom of the City of Belfast award. Former President Bill Clinton also received this award at the same ceremony.

Books by George Mitchell

Men of Zeal: A Candid Inside Story of the Iran-Contra Hearings (1988)
World on Fire: Saving an Endangered Earth (1991)
Not For America Alone: The Triumph of Democracy and The Fall of Communism (1997)
Making Peace (1999)
The Negotiator: A Memoir (2015)
A Path to Peace: A Brief History of Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations and a Way Forward in the Middle East (2016)

George J. Mitchell facts for kids

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