Jim Guy Tucker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jim Guy Tucker
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Portrait of Tucker, 1977
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| 43rd Governor of Arkansas | |
| In office December 12, 1992 – July 15, 1996 |
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| Lieutenant | Mike Huckabee |
| Preceded by | Bill Clinton |
| Succeeded by | Mike Huckabee |
| 15th Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas | |
| In office January 15, 1991 – December 12, 1992 |
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| Governor | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Winston Bryant |
| Succeeded by | Mike Huckabee (1993) |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas's 2nd district |
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| In office January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1979 |
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| Preceded by | Wilbur Mills |
| Succeeded by | Ed Bethune |
| 49th Attorney General of Arkansas | |
| In office January 9, 1973 – January 3, 1977 |
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| Governor | Dale Bumpers David Pryor |
| Preceded by | Ray Thornton |
| Succeeded by | Bill Clinton |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
James Guy Tucker Jr.
June 13, 1943 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | February 13, 2025 (aged 81) Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Betty Allen
(m. 1975) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Harvard University (AB) University of Arkansas (JD) |
| Military service | |
| Branch |  U.S. Marine Corps |
| Years | 1964 |
| Rank | Candidate |
| Unit | Marine Corps Reserve Officer Candidates School |
James Guy Tucker Jr. (born June 13, 1943 – died February 13, 2025) was an American politician, a person who works in government. He was also a businessman and a lawyer. He served as the 43rd governor of Arkansas from 1992 until he resigned in 1996. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Before becoming governor, he was the 15th lieutenant governor, the state's attorney general, and a U.S. representative.
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Early Life and Education
Jim Guy Tucker was born in Oklahoma City on June 13, 1943. His family moved to Arkansas before he started school. He went to public schools in Little Rock. He graduated from Hall High School in 1961.
While in high school, he got his first experience in politics. He ran for and was elected vice-president of Key Club International. This is a large and old service organization for high school students in the United States. He served in this role from 1960 to 1961. After high school, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University in 1964.
Early Career Paths
In 1964, Tucker joined the United States Marine Corps Reserve. However, he was discharged for health reasons (stomach ulcers) after finishing the first part of his officer training.
In early 1965, Tucker traveled to Southeast Asia. He went to South Vietnam as a freelance war correspondent. This means he reported on the war without working for a specific news company. He stayed in the war zone until 1967. During this time, he took part in several military events. Later that year, he published a book called Arkansas Men at War. It was a collection of interviews with soldiers from Arkansas he had met in combat.
After this, he worked briefly as an assistant professor of American history at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. In 1968, Tucker returned to the University of Arkansas Law School. He graduated and became a lawyer that same year.
Law and Public Service
Tucker began his law career at the Rose Law Firm. In 1970, he ran for prosecuting attorney. This is a lawyer who works for the government to bring legal cases against people accused of crimes. He served as prosecutor for the Sixth Judicial District of Arkansas from 1971 to 1972. In this job, he handled over 1,000 serious crime cases that had been waiting from earlier times. He won many cases that people thought were impossible to win.
Political Journey
In 1972, Tucker was a delegate at the 1972 Democratic National Convention. This is a big meeting where the Democratic Party chooses its candidate for president. In November 1972, at age 29, he was elected Arkansas Attorney General. This is the chief legal officer for the state. He easily won against Edwin Bethune.
Tucker served two terms as attorney general, from 1973 to 1977. He helped lead a project to update Arkansas's criminal laws. This new set of laws was approved by the state's government. Tucker also started getting involved in cases about how much utility companies could charge. He pushed for "scrubbers" on a large power plant that burned coal. Scrubbers help clean the air. He also helped lead a committee focused on protecting consumers.
From 1977 to 1979, Tucker served one term as a U.S. Representative for Arkansas. He worked on important committees, including one about Social Security and another about welfare reform.
In 1978, he left his seat to run for the United States Senate. However, he lost in the Democratic primary election to the governor at the time, David Pryor. In the same election, Bill Clinton, who had taken over as attorney general after Tucker, was elected governor.
In 1979, President Jimmy Carter chose Tucker to lead the White House Conference on Families. He held this position until 1981.
Tucker went back to practicing law. He ran for governor again in 1982, but lost to Bill Clinton. Later, he became a partner at a law firm and handled complex legal cases. Eight years later, Tucker planned to run for governor against Clinton again. However, he changed his mind and decided to run for lieutenant governor instead.
Tucker believed that Clinton might run for president and not finish his term as governor. Because of a state rule, Tucker often served as acting governor when Clinton was out of the state campaigning for president. He took over the governor's duties almost constantly from mid-1991 until November 1992. Tucker officially became governor when Clinton resigned on December 12, 1992, after being elected president.
Soon after becoming governor, Tucker called a special meeting of the state government. He wanted to solve a money problem for the state's Medicaid system, which helps people with healthcare costs. He suggested a tax on soft drinks, and the money from this tax went into a special fund for Medicaid. Some people tried to get rid of the tax, but voters decided to keep it. In 1994, Tucker won the election for a full four-year term as governor with over 59% of the votes. He was sworn in on January 10, 1995, and resigned in 1996.
Business Ventures
In the early 1980s, while working as a lawyer, Tucker and his wife, Betty, started building cable television systems. They built these systems in Central Arkansas, then near Dallas–Fort Worth, and in southern Florida. In the early 1990s, Tucker partnered with a company called Insight Cable. They bought and expanded cable television systems in London. This company later joined with others and became a public company in London.
Starting in the mid-1990s, Tucker and his wife, along with James Riady, created a cable television company in Indonesia. In 1998, during a financial crisis in Indonesia, the company almost failed. Tucker went to Indonesia in 1999. With the Riady family, he started a new company called Kabelvision. They built and expanded cable systems in Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bali. In 2000, this company became part of a new company called AcrossAsia Multimedia Ltd. It was listed on the Global Emerging Markets (GEM) Exchange in Hong Kong that same year. With AcrossAsia Multimedia, they built what was then the largest cable TV and Internet network in Indonesia.
Personal Life and Health
In 1975, Jim Guy Tucker married Betty Allen. They had two children together. He also became a stepfather to Betty's two children from a previous marriage.
Since his college years at Harvard, Tucker suffered from a serious health condition. It was an autoimmune disease that caused severe liver problems. This condition made him very weak and put his life at risk. In 1994, he almost died from internal bleeding. His health steadily got worse. On Christmas Day 1996, Tucker received a liver transplant at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
In January 2025, Tucker began receiving hospice care, which provides comfort and support for people with serious illnesses. He passed away at a hospital in Little Rock on February 13, 2025, at the age of 81. His death was due to complications from another health issue called ulcerative colitis.
Legacy and Recognition
In 2012, Jim Guy Tucker donated his personal papers and materials to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. This collection, called the James Guy Tucker Jr. Papers, shows details about his life and political career. It was put on display and opened to the public in 2017. A star in the Columba constellation was even given the nickname after Tucker by the International Star Registry.
See also
In Spanish: Jim Guy Tucker para niños
