Theodore Fulton "Ted" Stevens (born November 18, 1923) is an American politician from Alaska. He is currently the longest serving Republican in the U.S. Senate and, because of this, is the current president pro tempore.

Biography

Ted Stevens was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1923. During World War II, he was a pilot in China with the "Flying Tigers" of the 14th Army Air Force from 1943 to 1946, holding the rank of First Lieutenant. There he received two Distinguished Flying Crosses and two Air Medals, as well as the Yuan Hai medal of Taiwan.

After the war ended, Stevens attended UCLA and Harvard Law School. In the early 1950s he moved to Alaska, then a territory. In Fairbanks Stevens practiced law, and he was appointed U.S. Attorney for Fairbanks in 1953.

In 1956 Stevens was transferred to Washington, D.C.. There he worked as legislative counsel and assistant to Secretary of the Interior Fred Seaton. He also pushed for the statehood of Alaska and Hawaii, which occurred in 1959. In 1960, then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower promoted Stevens to solicitor of the Interior Department.

After returning to Alaska, Stevens practiced law in Anchorage. He was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives in 1964, and House majority leader in his second term. In December 1968, Governor Walter Joseph Hickel appointed Stevens to the U.S. Senate after the death of Bob Bartlett. In 1970, Stevens was elected to finish the term in a special election, and has been reelected six times since, in 1972, 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996 and 2002. His current term is finished in 2008.

Stevens served as the Assistant Republican Whip from 1977 to 1985. In 1994, Stevens was appointed Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee. Stevens became the Senate's president pro tempore when Republicans regained control of the chamber in 2003. He has been Chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee since 1996 and is also Chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. In the past, Stevens also has served as Chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee, the Arms Control Observer Group, and the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress.

In 2003, The Los Angeles Times published charges that Stevens had gotten rich through influence peddling, steering government contracts to his associates, and insider trading, all of which Stevens denied.

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Anchorage is named after him.

Stevens current home in Alaska is in Girdwood. His campaign political action committee is called the "Northern Lights PAC."

References

• Chuck Neubauer and Richard T. Cooper. "Senator's Way to Wealth Was Paved With Favors." The Los Angeles Times. December 17, 2003. A1.

External links

• Official Senate website http://www.senate.gov/~stevens/
• Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport http://www.dot.state.ak.us/anc/aiawlcm.html

Preceded by: Bob Bartlett

U.S. Senator from Alaska

Succeeded by: Incumbent