Paul Coverdell
335083
213713503
2008-05-20T15:08:07Z
216.52.196.200
department of redundancy department
{{Infobox Senator |name=Paul Douglas Coverdell
|nationality=American
|image name=Paul Coverdell.PNG
|jr/sr=United States Senator
|state=[[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
|party=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|term=[[January 3]], [[1993]]–[[July 18]], [[2000]]
|preceded=[[Wyche Fowler, Jr.]]
|succeeded=[[Zell Miller|Zell B. Miller]]
|date of birth={{birth date|1939|1|20|mf=y}}
|place of birth=[[Des Moines, Iowa]]
|dead=dead
|date of death={{death date and age|2000|7|18|1939|1|20}}
|place of death=[[Atlanta, Georgia]]
|spouse=Nancy Nally Coverdell
}}
'''Paul Douglas Coverdell''' ([[January 20]], [[1939]]–[[July 18]], [[2000]]) was a [[United States Senator]] from [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], elected for the first time in [[1992]] and re-elected in 1998, and director of the [[Peace Corps]] from 1989 until 1991. Coverdell died of a [[cerebral hemorrhage]] while serving in the United States Senate.
==Early life==
Coverdell was born in [[Des Moines, Iowa]] in 1939<ref name=NYT>New York Times. " Paul Coverdell, 61, Dies; Influential Senator From Georgia." July 19, 2000.</ref> and lived much of his childhood in the Midwest.<ref name=NYT /> Coverdell graduated from Lee's Summit High School in Lees Summit, Mo.<ref>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=C000813 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. "Paul Coverdell"]</ref> and went on to graduate from the [[University of Missouri–Columbia|University of Missouri]] in 1961 with a degree in journalism.<ref name=NYT /> While in college, Coverdell was a member of [[Phi Kappa Psi]] fraternity.<ref>[http://www.phikappapsilag.com/index.php?page=data/aboutus.html Phi Kappa Psi History]</ref>
Coverdell joined the [[United States Army|Army]] in 1962 and served as a Captain in Okinawa, Taiwan, and Korea.<ref name=PCO>Georgia College and State University. "Biography of Paul Coverdell" (The link to the [http://library.gcsu.edu/~sc/collections/coverdell/ original article] is dead. An archival copy of the story is available on [http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/4133.html Peace Corps Online].</ref> After completing his service Coverdell settled in [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]] with his wife, Nancy. Coverdell began a career in [[insurance]],<ref name=NYT /> founding the firm Coverdell & Co. Inc. with his father and becoming President of the family business in 1965.<ref name=PCO />
==Georgia State Senate (1970 to 1989)==
Coverdell was unsuccessful in his first attempt to win election to the [[Georgia State Senate|state senate]] in 1968 but he ran again and won in 1970<ref name=PCO /> representing north [[Fulton County, Georgia|Fulton County]]. Coverdell began serving as Senate Minority Leader in 1974, a position he held until he left the Georgia Senate in 1989.<ref name=PCO /> Coverdell worked with Democrats to accomplish his goals. [[Roy Barnes]], a Democrat who would later be elected Governor of Georgia, said that when he joined the Georgia State Senate, Republican Coverdell took him under his political wing.<ref name=NYT /> "He showed that people of different parties could discuss their personal strengths and weaknesses," Barnes said.<ref name=NYT /> "I never worried that Paul would disclose anything I said."<ref name=NYT /> During Coverdell's time as Minority Leader he worked for pension reform, supported DUI legislation, and raising the legal drinking age in Georgia.<ref name=PCO />
In 1977 Coverdell lost a special election for Andrew Young’s congressional seat to [[Wyche Fowler]].<ref name=gagop>[http://www.gagop.org/default.asp?pt=doc&doc=history&np=300 History of the Georgia Republican Party]</ref> After Coverdell's loss in 1977, he began working to develop a base for national Republican candidates and a viable statewide Republican Party organization.<ref name=nge>[http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.net/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1089 New Georgia Encyclopedia: Paul Coverdell (1939-2000)]</ref> In 1985 Coverdell was elected Chairman of the GOP in Georgia.<ref name=gagop />
In 1978, Coverdell was vacationing in Maine and decided to look up former Chairman of the [[Republican National Committee]] [[George H. W. Bush]]. Coverdell found Bush's address in a phone book, went to his home, knocked on the door and introduced himself to the future president.<ref name=notable /> Bush and Coverdell became close friends and over the next fourteen years Bush and Coverdell would help each other on a number of occasions.<ref name=notable>[http://ngeorgia.com/people/coverdell.html Paul Coverdell, a North Georgia Notable]</ref> In 1980, Coverdell was finance chairman in Georgia when Bush first ran for the Republican nomination for President.<ref name=PCOLLiason /> In 1988, Coverdell was the Southern steering committee chairman for the Bush campaign.<ref name=PCOLLiason>New York Times. "Bush's Senate Liaison Is a Longtime Friend of the Family." June 19, 2000</ref> Coverdell's efforts paid off in 1988 when Bush carried Georgia's twelve electoral votes.<ref name=nge /> When Bush was elected President, Coverdell sent a letter.<ref name=PCOLLiason /> "If I can help, I'd like to help," Coverdell wrote.<ref name=PCOLLiason /> Bush appointed Coverdell to head the Peace Corps.<ref name=PCO />
==Peace Corps Director (1989 to 1991)==
Coverdell was sworn in as Director of the Peace Corps on [[May 2]], [[1989]] in a ceremony in the Oval Office.<ref name=PCO /> At the same time Coverdell stepped down from the Georgia State Senate, a post he had held for 15 years and resigned as president of Coverdell and Co. Inc to devote his time to the Peace Corps.<ref name=PCO /> Coverdell's primary initiative as Peace Corps Director was the creation of the "World Wise Schools" program.<ref name=PCO /> The program linked students in the United States with Peace Corps volunteers serving around the world.<ref name=PCO /> During the time Coverdell was in office, the World Wise Schools program connected volunteers with 5,000 classrooms in the United States.<ref name=PCO />
===Peace Corps enters Eastern Europe===
Coverdell sent the first Peace Corps volunteers to Eastern Europe after the fall of the [[Berlin Wall]].<ref name=PCOLEasterneurope /> On June 15, 1990, President [[George H. W. Bush]] hosted a send off for volunteers headed for [[Poland]] and [[Hungary]].<ref name=PCOLEasterneurope /> "The key you carry with you will be the English language -- what Paul calls the language of commerce and understanding. And just as national literacy has long been the key to power, so today English literacy has become the key to progress. Like your liberty, your language came to you as a birthright and a credit to the dreams and sacrifices of those who came before. And today you're investing that birthright in the ancient dreams and the new ideas of faraway peoples and their own nations reborn. Your investment is America's investment in the consolidation of democracy and independence in Central and Eastern Europe. Peace Corps programs in Poland and Hungary, and then soon in Czechoslovakia, are another tangible element of America's sustained commitment to Central and Eastern Europe's democratic transformation toward a Europe whole and free."<ref name=PCOLEasterneurope>Bush Library. "Remarks at a White House Ceremony Marking the Entry of the Peace Corps into Central Europe." June 15, 1990 (Transcript of speech by President George Bush) The link to the [http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/papers/1990/90061501.html original transcript] is dead. An archival copy is available on [http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/1010867.html Peace Corps Online].</ref>
===Coverdell's Support for the Peace Corps===
After Coverdell was elected to the Senate he continued his support for the Peace Corps and supported legislation to expand it.<ref name=PCOLPeacecorpssupport /> In testimony before the International Relations Committee in the House of Representatives on March 18, 1998 Coverdell testified in support of expansion.<ref name=PCOLPeacecorpssupport /> "I want to point out that the goal of increasing the number of Peace Corps volunteers spans three Presidencies. Under the distinguished leadership of former Director, the late Director Ruppe, the concept of moving toward 10,000 American volunteers throughout the world began to be articulated by the Reagan Administration. During my directorship we continued the pursuit of expanding the volunteer corps. We were there at a rather unique moment in world history, and the emphasis necessarily began to shift to responding to a host of nations experiencing freedom for the first time in nearly half a century, many more years, and so the emphasis began to move toward the opening, as the chairman alluded to, of new country programs. These new countries can be the beneficiary of our activities if we pursue expanding the volunteer corps."<ref name=PCOLPeacecorpssupport>[http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/intlrel/hfa48753.000/hfa48753_0.HTM Transcript]: 48–753 CC Hearing Before The Committee On International Relations, House Of Representatives, One Hundred Fifth Congress, Second Session, March 18, 1998</ref>
===Controversy over Trips to Georgia===
Meanwhile Coverdell had his eye on the Senate Seat held by Wyche Fowler, the man who defeated him in the special election for Congress in 1977.<ref name=PCOLCoverdellresigns /> The New York Times reported on September 4, 1991 that Coverdell had resigned as director of the Peace Corps and was considering a run for the Senate.<ref name=PCOLCoverdellresigns>New York Times. "Leader of Peace Corps Resigns, Official Says." September 4, 1991.</ref> There is some controversy over Coverdell's use of the office of Peace Corps Director and his subsequent run for the Senate.<ref name=PCOLProspects /> The New York Times reported on September 27, 1992 that Coverdell's tenure as head of the Peace Corps was likely to be one of the issues in the 1992 Senate race in Georgia and that Coverdell had been "accused of using the office to plot his political future in Georgia."<ref name=PCOLProspects>New York Times. "Prospects Looking Up For 7 Southern Senators" September 27, 1992.</ref> In 2001, Barbara Ferris, a returned Peace Corps Volunteer and President of the International Women's Democracy Center (and later a candidate for the Democratic Congressional nomination in Ohio's 10th district in 2006<ref>[http://www.ferrisforcongress.com/ Barbara Ferris: Democrat for Congress, 10th District Ohio.]</ref>), wrote that Coverdell had traveled nearly 30 times to Georgia in less than one year saying he was "trying to increase the number of recruits from there" and said that it looked like Coverdell was running his Senate campaign from the Peace Corps.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20010408002623/http://arepita.com/conovnamofpe.html Arepita: Friends of Venezuela. "Your Urgent Action is necessary Now to avoid having the Peace Corps Office named Coverdell!!"]</ref> However [[Charlton Heston]], who came to Georgia to campaign on Coverdell's behalf in the Senate election, said in 1992, "He served (as Peace Corps director) effectively, but it hardly seemed an ideal launching pad for national elective office."<ref name=march>{{cite web
|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n25_v44/ai_13367181/pg_1
|title=Marching through Georgia - victory of conservative Republican Paul Coverdell over incumbent liberal Democrat Wyche Fowler in the Georgia senate race, November 1992. National Review
|format=
|work=
|accessdate=2008-04-18
}}</ref>
==United States Senator (1992 to 2000)==
===Election to Senate===
Coverdell faced an uphill fight and had to campaign in four separate elections to gain his U.S. Senate seat.<ref name=nge /> Coverdell was not a natural campaigner.<ref name=Broder /> Senator [[Phil Gramm]], then chairman of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, said he was appalled the first time he saw Coverdell speak during the 1992 election.<ref name=Broder /> "Paul got up and spoke in that squeaky voice and he sort of had a way of jumping up and down when he was speaking and waving his hands," Gramm said.<ref name=Broder /> "But little did I know ... that this man had the heart of a lion.<ref name=Broder>"Sen. Coverdell: A peacemaker admired, cherished" by David Broder. July 30, 2000</ref>
Facing four other candidates in the Republican primary,<ref name=march /> Coverdell failed to win 50% of the vote and was forced into a runoff against [[Bob Barr]] that he won by only 1,600 votes.<ref name=nge /> The general election also proved difficult. Fowler beat Coverdell by 30,000 votes but because the Libertarian candidate, Jim Hudson, had won 3 percent of the vote<ref>New York Times. "The 1992 Elections: State by State; South" November 5, 1992.</ref> another runoff election was required.<ref name=march /> Coverdell won the runoff by 20,000 votes, only the second Republican Georgia sent to the Senate since Reconstruction.<ref name=march /> President Bush showed his support for Coverdell and Barbara Bush campaigned for Coverdell during the senate race.<ref name=PCO />
===Service in Senate===
Coverdell served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Agriculture Committee, and Small Business Committee.<ref name=nge /> After the death of Senator [[John Chafee]] on October 24, 1999, a seat opened up on the Senate Finance Committee and Coverdell relinquished his seat on the Foreign Relations Committee to fill the seat.<ref>[http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/110699/opi_124-1868.shtml Augusta Chronicle. "Coverdell 'promoted'" November 6, 1999.]</ref> Coverdell sponsored legislation used by millions of Americans to fund college educations for their children<ref name=PCO /> originally called Education IRAs but now known as [[Coverdell Education Savings Account|Coverdell Education Savings Accounts (CESAs)]] or Coverdell Plans for short.<ref name=PCO /> Coverdell ESAs allow money to grow tax deferred and proceeds to be withdrawn tax free for qualified education expenses at a qualified institution. Coverdell sponsored the Volunteer Protection Act, a law that protects volunteers, nonprofit organizations, and governmental entities from lawsuits when they are involved in charitable and non-profit activities.<ref name=PCO /> However critics of the law say that providing immunity to a volunteer who has injured someone as a consequence of his carelessness clashes with the charitable goal of helping others, that nonprofits should be held to the same standard of care as for-profit organizations, and that the Act would not be necessary at all if nonprofits carried adequate general liability insurance.<ref>[http://www.npccny.org/info/gti2.htm Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York] - Volunteer Protection Act of 1997</ref> Coverdell also worked against tax increases, to protect federal lands in national parks, and for humanitarian concerns.<ref name=nge />
In 1998, Coverdell, running with the slogan "Coverdell Works," made history by becoming the first Republican from Georgia ever to be re-elected to the U.S. Senate.<ref>{{cite journal |author = Carole VanSickle |year = [[2006]] |month = Summer |title = Where Talents Converge, By Plan and By Chance |journal = University of Georgia Research Magazine |url = http://www.ovpr.uga.edu/researchnews/summer2006/wheretalents.htm |accessdate = 2007-08-21}}</ref> In 1999 before an exploratory committee was formed, Coverdell took on the job of liaison between then Governor [[George W. Bush]]'s campaign and the Senate.<ref name=PCOLSenateliaison /> Early in the campaign, Coverdell's job was to line up Republican senators to endorse Governor Bush instead of Senator John McCain and he succeeded in getting the endorsement of almost every Senate Republican.<ref name=PCOLSenateliaison /> After Bush locked up the nomination, Coverdell dealt with requests from senators who wanted to talk to Bush.<ref name=PCOLSenateliaison /> "We don't want black holes," Coverdell said.<ref name=PCOLSenateliaison /> "We want people feeling they are part of the effort. We want to create good will."<ref name=PCOLSenateliaison>New York Times. "Bush's Senate Liaison Is a Longtime Friend of the Family." June 19, 2000.</ref>
===Death in Office===
On a trip to Georgia for a weekend of speaking engagements and constituency services, Coverdell complained of a severe headache.<ref name=PCO /> Diagnosed as a cerebral hemorrhage, Coverdell underwent surgery at [[Piedmont Hospital]] in Atlanta on [[July 17]], [[2000]].<ref name=PCO /> He never regained consciousness and died early on the evening of [[July 18]], [[2000]].<ref name=PCO />
More than 50 senators and representatives from both parties joined 900 other mourners at Coverdell's funeral at the Peachtree United Methodist Church in Atlanta.<ref name=NYT /> Former President [[George H. W. Bush]], a close friend of Coverdell, did not attend, but a family friend read his tribute.<ref name=NYT /> "He loved politics and was a clear example of politics being a noble calling," wrote Bush.<ref name=NYT /> "He leaves behind a legacy that quiet is good, caring about the other guy matters."<ref name=NYT />
==Legacy and Honors==
[[Image:Coverdellstatue.JPG|thumb|Right|350px|Coverdell statue at "The Park at Tower Place"<ref>[http://www.towerplace.net/home.htm The Tower Place Complex]</ref> (also known as "Coverdell Park") in [[Atlanta]]'s [[Buckhead (Atlanta)|Buckhead]] district.]]
Coverdell was often described as a quiet, soft-spoken man, but he left profound marks on the governments of both the state of Georgia and the nation in a relatively brief period of time through the [[Coverdell Education Savings Account]]s, which are used by millions of Americans to fund college educations for their children and the establishment of a strong [[Georgia Republican Party|Republican Party in Georgia]].<ref name=PCO />
Coverdell left a legacy of civility in government.<ref name=Broder /> Political columnist [[David Broder]] wrote that Coverdell's "name rarely appeared in the headlines, and his face was not seen on magazine covers or the Sunday TV shows" but that he was admired and cherished by his colleagues.<ref name=Broder /> Democratic Senator [[Dianne Feinstein]] remembered that "(Coverdell) was not only a good senator, he was a good and decent man ... a very nice man."<ref name=Broder /> Senator [[Olympia Snowe]] said "People like Paul Coverdell exist in the world — good, honorable, trustworthy people who call us to our better nature."<ref name=Broder /> [[George H. W. Bush]] honored Coverdell at the inauguration of the Coverdell Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences on April 6, 2006: "In the Washington world of bitter partisanship, Paul was the voice of reason."<ref>United Press International. "Coverdell honored with biotech center name." April 8, 2006. (The link to the [http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060408-025548-1248r original story] is dead. An archival copy of the story is available at [http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/2045992.html Peace Corps Online].</ref>
[[George W. Bush]] said "Paul Coverdell was a man of unusual abilities and striking character. He spoke with candor when others might hide the unpleasant truth. He was wise and reasonable in a city that often lacks both virtues. He was a man of principle who understood our political system's essential need for compromise. He was respected by both allies and adversaries."<ref>[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/07/20010726-1.html The White House. "Remarks by President Bush in Bill Signings in honor of Senator Paul Coverdell." Office of the Press Secretary. July 26, 2001.]</ref>
Coverdell's state Senate papers are held by [[Georgia State University]], while his papers from the Peace Corps and United States Senate are housed at the Ina Dillard Russell Library of [[Georgia College & State University]] in [[Milledgeville, Georgia|Milledgeville]], which also has a public policy institute named in his honor.<ref name=PCO /> The Peace Corps’ headquarters in Washington, D.C., was named for Coverdell.<ref name=PCO />
Coverdell was survived by his wife, Nancy who later became a [[presidential elector]] in [[U.S. presidential election, 2000|2000]] on the [[George W. Bush|Bush]]-[[Richard Cheney|Cheney]] ticket.<ref>U.S. National Archives and Records Administration: Office of the Federal Register. [http://archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/2004_certificates/index.html U. S. Electoral College results, 2004 Election]</ref>
==Citations==
{{reflist|2}}
==External links==
{{CongLinks |congbio = C000813}}
*[http://library.gcsu.edu/~sc/collections/coverdell/index.html Coverdell papers at GC&SU]
*[http://ngeorgia.com/people/coverdell.html Paul Coverdell] Biography of the U. S. Senator from Georgia
*[http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/2027742.html Peace Corps Archive of articles regarding Paul Coverdell]
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{{succession box
|before=[[Loret Miller Ruppe]]
|title=Director of the [[Peace Corps]]
|years=1989 – 1991
|after=[[Elaine Chao]]}}
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{{U.S. Senator box|
state=Georgia|
class=3|
before=[[Wyche Fowler, Jr.]]|
years=1993 – 2000|
after=[[Zell Miller]]|
alongside=[[Sam Nunn]], [[Max Cleland]]
}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Connie Mack III]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Vice-Chairman of the [[Republican Conference Vice-Chair of the United States Senate|Senate Republican Conference]]|years=1997 – 2000}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Kay Bailey Hutchison]]}}
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{{USSenGA}}
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[[Category:1939 births]]
[[Category:2000 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Iowa]]
[[Category:United States Army soldiers]]
[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) State Senators]]
[[Category:Peace Corps directors]]
[[Category:United States Senators from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:University of Missouri–Columbia alumni]]