.gif)
Craig Campbell (politician)
Encyclopedia
Craig Eaton Campbell was the 12th Lieutenant Governor of Alaska, holding the office from August 10, 2009 through December 6 2010. Prior to that date, he was "temporary substitute" lieutenant governor for several weeks until being confirmed in the position by the State Legislature. Campbell left office in December 2010, after having withdrawn from the Republican primary race for lieutenant governor, which was eventually won by Mead Treadwell
.
Prior to being designated as lieutenant governor, Campbell was the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. In that role, he was head of the state's National Guard, with the rank of Lieutenant General. On July 3, 2009, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin
announced that she would resign effective July 26. Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell
would become governor, and Campbell would replace Parnell as lieutenant governor. He is married to wife Anne Marie and has two children: Amanda and Melanie, and four grandchildren: Faith, Ellie, Kimberly and Emma.
in Oklahoma
on an ROTC scholarship and graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts
degree in political science
. He was commissioned a second lieutenant
that year and was assigned to the Air Traffic Control Officers Training Course at Keesler Air Force Base
in Mississippi
.
After being certified as an air traffic controller
, he was assigned to Travis Air Force Base
in California
, then to K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base
in Michigan
. Each assignment brought a promotion, and he left Sawyer in 1979 as a captain. From Sawyer, he moved to Vandenberg Air Force Base
, where he served as chief of air traffic control operations until 1981. During his stay at Vandenberg, he attended classes and earned a Master of Public Administration
degree from Golden Gate University
in nearby San Francisco, California
.
In 1981, he was assigned to Alaska for the first time when he was named the chief of air traffic control operations at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage. He left active-duty U.S. Air Force, joined the California Air National Guard
, and was assigned duties at Hayward Air National Guard Base in that state in 1984. He continued to live in Alaska and was elected to the Anchorage Assembly
in 1986 as the representative of Chugiak and Eagle River. The district also included Elmendorf and the other major military base in Anchorage, Fort Richardson (the two have since been combined as Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson
).
In 1988, he was promoted to major, and in 1991 he joined the Alaska National Guard and became commander of the 168th Resource Management Squadron at Eielson Air Force Base
in Alaska. He later was made commander of the 168th Logistics Squadron at the base and was promoted to lieutenant colonel
.
In 1997, he moved into a staff position with the Alaska Air National Guard in Anchorage. In 1999, he earned a Master of Arts
degree in national security
and strategic studies
from the Naval War College
at Newport, Rhode Island. He stayed in staff positions until 2000, when he was promoted to colonel
and named vice commander of the 168th Air Refueling Wing
at Eielson. While there, he helped command the wing's operations in support of the American war effort in Afghanistan. The same year that he was named vice-commander, he became executive director of Anchorage's Office of Planning, Development and Public Works. In 2003, he was selected by then-Alaska governor Frank Murkowski
to serve as the state's adjutant general—the commander of the Alaska National Guard—and commissioner of the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. Following Palin's election in 2006, he was reconfirmed in his office.
Campbell was promoted to lieutenant (three-star) general within the state National Guard by Palin on September 7, 2008. He retained his federal National Guard rank of major (two-star) general until he retired August 31, 2009.
Justice Daniel E. Winfree. After coming back into session, the Legislature confirmed Campbell as lieutenant governor by a vote of 55-4.
Mead Treadwell
Mead Treadwell is the 13th and current Lieutenant Governor of Alaska and former Chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission.- Work with the Arctic Research Commission :...
.
Prior to being designated as lieutenant governor, Campbell was the commissioner of the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. In that role, he was head of the state's National Guard, with the rank of Lieutenant General. On July 3, 2009, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
announced that she would resign effective July 26. Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell
Sean Parnell
Sean R. Parnell is an American Republican politician who is the tenth and current Governor of Alaska. He succeeded Sarah Palin following her resignation, and was sworn in at the Governor's Picnic in Fairbanks on July 26, 2009...
would become governor, and Campbell would replace Parnell as lieutenant governor. He is married to wife Anne Marie and has two children: Amanda and Melanie, and four grandchildren: Faith, Ellie, Kimberly and Emma.
Biography
Campbell was born in 1952. He was raised in Longmeadow, Massachusetts and attended the University of TulsaUniversity of Tulsa
The University of Tulsa is a private university awarding bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. It is currently ranked 75th among doctoral degree granting universities in the nation by US News and World Report and is listed as one of the "Best 366 Colleges" by...
in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
on an ROTC scholarship and graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
. He was commissioned a second lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
that year and was assigned to the Air Traffic Control Officers Training Course at Keesler Air Force Base
Keesler Air Force Base
Keesler Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Biloxi, a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. The base is named in honor of aviator 2d Lt Samuel Reeves Keesler, Jr., a Mississippi native killed in France in First World War.-Units:The base is home of...
in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
.
After being certified as an air traffic controller
Air traffic controller
Air traffic controllers are the people who expedite and maintain a safe and orderly flow of air traffic in the global air traffic control system. The position of the air traffic controller is one that requires highly specialized skills...
, he was assigned to Travis Air Force Base
Travis Air Force Base
Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force air base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command , located three miles east of the central business district of Fairfield, in Solano County, California, United States. The base is named for Brigadier General Robert F...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, then to K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base
K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base
K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base is a decommissioned U.S. Air Force base in Marquette County, Michigan, south of the city of Marquette. The base, near the center of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, closed in 1995. The county airport, Sawyer International, now occupies a portion of the base and has scheduled...
in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. Each assignment brought a promotion, and he left Sawyer in 1979 as a captain. From Sawyer, he moved to Vandenberg Air Force Base
Vandenberg Air Force Base
Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately northwest of Lompoc, California. It is under the jurisdiction of the 30th Space Wing, Air Force Space Command ....
, where he served as chief of air traffic control operations until 1981. During his stay at Vandenberg, he attended classes and earned a Master of Public Administration
Master of Public Administration
The Master of Public Administration is a professional post-graduate degree in Public Administration. The MPA program prepares individuals to serve as managers in the executive arm of local, state/provincial, and federal/national government, and increasingly in nongovernmental organization and...
degree from Golden Gate University
Golden Gate University
Golden Gate University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in the South of Market district, immediately south of the Financial District of downtown San Francisco, California...
in nearby San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
.
In 1981, he was assigned to Alaska for the first time when he was named the chief of air traffic control operations at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage. He left active-duty U.S. Air Force, joined the California Air National Guard
California Air National Guard
The California Air National Guard is the air component of the California National Guard. The California Air National Guard is headquartered at Sacramento, California.One of the duties of the California Air National Guard is defense of the United States...
, and was assigned duties at Hayward Air National Guard Base in that state in 1984. He continued to live in Alaska and was elected to the Anchorage Assembly
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
in 1986 as the representative of Chugiak and Eagle River. The district also included Elmendorf and the other major military base in Anchorage, Fort Richardson (the two have since been combined as Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is a United States military facility adjacent to Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska. It is an amalgamation of the former United States Air Force Elmendorf Air Force Base and the United States Army Fort Richardson, which were merged in 2010.-Overview:The...
).
In 1988, he was promoted to major, and in 1991 he joined the Alaska National Guard and became commander of the 168th Resource Management Squadron at Eielson Air Force Base
Eielson Air Force Base
Eielson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska and just southeast of Moose Creek, Alaska....
in Alaska. He later was made commander of the 168th Logistics Squadron at the base and was promoted to lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
.
In 1997, he moved into a staff position with the Alaska Air National Guard in Anchorage. In 1999, he earned a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree in national security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
and strategic studies
Strategic studies
Strategic studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to topics concerning the relationship between politics, geography and natural resources, economics, and military power, such as the role of intelligence, diplomacy and threats in the preparation and use of force...
from the Naval War College
Naval War College
The Naval War College is an education and research institution of the United States Navy that specializes in developing ideas for naval warfare and passing them along to officers of the Navy. The college is located on the grounds of Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island...
at Newport, Rhode Island. He stayed in staff positions until 2000, when he was promoted to colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
and named vice commander of the 168th Air Refueling Wing
168th Air Refueling Wing
The 168th Air Refueling Wing of the Alaska Air National Guard is the only Arctic region refueling unit for all of United States Pacific Air Forces , and maintains a substantial number of personnel on active duty and civilian technician status in order to meet its daily operational requirements...
at Eielson. While there, he helped command the wing's operations in support of the American war effort in Afghanistan. The same year that he was named vice-commander, he became executive director of Anchorage's Office of Planning, Development and Public Works. In 2003, he was selected by then-Alaska governor Frank Murkowski
Frank Murkowski
Francis Hughes Murkowski is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He was a United States Senator from Alaska from 1981 until 2002 and the eighth Governor of Alaska from 2002 until 2006.- Early life and career :...
to serve as the state's adjutant general—the commander of the Alaska National Guard—and commissioner of the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. Following Palin's election in 2006, he was reconfirmed in his office.
Campbell was promoted to lieutenant (three-star) general within the state National Guard by Palin on September 7, 2008. He retained his federal National Guard rank of major (two-star) general until he retired August 31, 2009.
Lieutenant governor
Under the Alaska state constitution, a governor's selection of a new lieutenant governor is subject to confirmation by the State Legislature. The same Constitution, however, gives the governor the power to make "recess appointments", and the Legislature was not in session when Parnell succeeded as governor on July 26. Following Palin's announcement, conflicting statements issued from Alaska legal authorities as to whether Palin had the authority to appoint a lieutenant governor without approval from the state legislature. The state Attorney General stated that while Palin could name Campbell lieutenant governor, it would be preferable to have him sworn in as acting or temporary lieutenant governor, taking the permanent post only upon approval of the legislature. Only July 26, after then-Lieutenant Governor Parnell was sworn in as Governor, Campbell was given the oath as "temporary substitute" Lieutenant Governor. The oath was administered by Alaska Supreme CourtAlaska Supreme Court
The Alaska Supreme Court is the state supreme court in the State of Alaska's judicial department . The supreme court is composed of the chief justice and four associate justices, who are all appointed by the governor of Alaska and face judicial retention elections and who choose one of their own...
Justice Daniel E. Winfree. After coming back into session, the Legislature confirmed Campbell as lieutenant governor by a vote of 55-4.