John Engler
Encyclopedia
John Mathias Engler is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party
. He served as the 46th Governor of Michigan
from 1991 to 2003.
Engler has spent most of his adult life in government. He was serving in the Michigan Senate when he enrolled at Thomas M. Cooley Law School
, and graduated with a Juris Doctor
degree from Cooley, having served as a Michigan State Senator
since 1979. He was elected Senate Majority Leader in 1984 and served there until elected governor in 1990.
Engler serves on the Board of Advisors of the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal
, an educational organization that continues the intellectual legacy of noted conservative icon and Michigan native Russell Kirk
. Engler also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Marguerite Eyer Wilbur Foundation, which funds many Kirk Center programs.
and grew up on a cattle farm in Beal City
. He attended Michigan State University
and graduated with a degree in agricultural economics
in 1971, and Thomas M. Cooley Law School
, graduating with a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree, in 1981. He was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives as a State Representative in 1970 at the age of 22. His campaign manager
was new MSU College Republican chair Dick Posthumus
, who later went on to become Engler's Lieutenant Governor.
Engler married Colleen House in 1975. Colleen Engler, by then a state representative herself, ran unsuccessfully in the Republican gubernatorial primary in 1986. John Engler had initially declared his support for another candidate (eventual Republican nominee William Lucas), but backed Colleen Engler once she became a candidate. The couple divorced in the 1980s.
Engler married his second wife, Michelle, a lawyer, in 1990. She was named to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
(Freddie Mac) board in 2001 by President George W. Bush
and re-appointed in 2002. The couple have triplet
daughters born November 13, 1994. The girls are named Margaret Rose, Hannah Michelle and Madeleine Jenny.
of state services, tax reduction, educational reform, welfare reform and major reorganization of executive branch departments. In 1996 he was elected Chairman of the Republican Governors Association
.
, Engler was considered by many political commentators and experts to be a serious potential vice presidential running mate for Republican nominee Bob Dole
. Eventually, however, Dole instead selected Jack Kemp
, a former congressman and HUD Secretary
.
, in the Republican primary.
After Bush secured the GOP nomination, Engler's name began to surface as a possible running mate
for Bush http://www.freep.com/news/politics/gov26_20000726.htm. In his book Decision Points
, Bush says that Engler was someone he was "close" with and could "work well with." Ultimately, Engler was passed-over for the running mate position in favor of Dick Cheney
. Some pundits speculated that as Engler was unsuccessful in delivering Michigan for the GOP ticket he was eliminated from contention for a coveted Cabinet position after Bush was elected. Engler's close political ally, Spencer Abraham
, who lost his re-election bid for the Senate to Debbie Stabenow
, was however chosen as Bush's Secretary of Energy.
, sought to succeed Engler in the 2002 gubernatorial race. Despite Republican successes across the country and in Michigan, Posthumus lost a close race to the state's Attorney General, Democrat Jennifer Granholm
.
Since leaving the governor's mansion in January 2003, Engler served as President of the state and local government sector of Electronic Data Systems
. He left that post in August 2004.
In September 2004, Engler was named the President & CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers
. Engler's six year tenure at the NAM ended in January 2010.
In January 2010, Engler was named the President of the Business Roundtable
.
in his bid for a third term. Political observers viewed Engler's bid as a long shot, and he trailed Blanchard by double digits in the polls the weekend before the election. However, on election day Engler pulled off the upset, defeating Blanchard by approximately 17,000 votes less than one percentage point.
In 1994 Engler ran for his second term. The Democrats nominated former Representative Howard Wolpe
, who had close ties to labor movement a potent force in Democratic politics in Michigan. Engler bested Wolpe 61% – 39%, and the state Republican party made significant gains. Spencer Abraham
picked up the Senate seat of retiring Democrat Donald W. Riegle, Jr.
. Republicans gained a seat to break a tie in the state House of Representatives and take a 56–54 majority, while also picking up a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Republican Candice Miller
won an upset victory to win the post of Secretary of State.
Michigan voters re-elected Engler to his third and final term in 1998. He won a landslide victory over lawyer Geoffrey Fieger
. Engler took 1,883,005 votes 62 percent of the total to Fieger's 38 percent and 1,143,574 votes. Engler's landslide helped the state Republican party to gain six seats in the state House of Representatives, taking control of the chamber they had lost two years previously with a 58–52 margin, as well as picking up an additional seat in the State Senate, for a 23–15 majority. Republicans also gained a seat on the technically non-partisan state Supreme Court, holding a 4–3 majority over the Democrats.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. He served as the 46th Governor of Michigan
Governor of Michigan
The Governor of Michigan is the chief executive of the U.S. State of Michigan. The current Governor is Rick Snyder, a member of the Republican Party.-Gubernatorial elections and term of office:...
from 1991 to 2003.
Engler has spent most of his adult life in government. He was serving in the Michigan Senate when he enrolled at Thomas M. Cooley Law School
Thomas M. Cooley Law School
Thomas M. Cooley Law School is an American Bar Association accredited law school in the United States. Located in Michigan, its main campus is in Lansing, and its satellite campuses are in Ann Arbor, Auburn Hills, and Grand Rapids. Cooley plans on opening another satellite campus in Tampa Bay,...
, and graduated with a Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
degree from Cooley, having served as a Michigan State Senator
Michigan Senate
The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. The Senate consists of 38 members, who are elected from constituencies having approximately 212,400 to 263,500 residents....
since 1979. He was elected Senate Majority Leader in 1984 and served there until elected governor in 1990.
Engler serves on the Board of Advisors of the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal
Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal
The Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal is a nonprofit educational organization based out of Mecosta, Michigan. It was founded in order to continue the legacy of Dr. Russell Kirk, an American political theorist, historian, social critic, literary critic, and fiction author...
, an educational organization that continues the intellectual legacy of noted conservative icon and Michigan native Russell Kirk
Russell Kirk
Russell Kirk was an American political theorist, moralist, historian, social critic, literary critic, and fiction author known for his influence on 20th century American conservatism. His 1953 book, The Conservative Mind, gave shape to the amorphous post–World War II conservative movement...
. Engler also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Marguerite Eyer Wilbur Foundation, which funds many Kirk Center programs.
Personal life
Engler, a Roman Catholic, was born in Mount PleasantMount Pleasant, Michigan
Mount Pleasant is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Isabella County. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 25,946. The 2008 census estimate places the population at 26,675....
and grew up on a cattle farm in Beal City
Beal City, Michigan
Beal City is an unincorporated community in Isabella County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a census-designated place for statistical purposes, but is not an incorporated municipality. The population was 345 at the 2000 census...
. He attended Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
and graduated with a degree in agricultural economics
Agricultural economics
Agricultural economics originally applied the principles of economics to the production of crops and livestock — a discipline known as agronomics. Agronomics was a branch of economics that specifically dealt with land usage. It focused on maximizing the crop yield while maintaining a good soil...
in 1971, and Thomas M. Cooley Law School
Thomas M. Cooley Law School
Thomas M. Cooley Law School is an American Bar Association accredited law school in the United States. Located in Michigan, its main campus is in Lansing, and its satellite campuses are in Ann Arbor, Auburn Hills, and Grand Rapids. Cooley plans on opening another satellite campus in Tampa Bay,...
, graduating with a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree, in 1981. He was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives as a State Representative in 1970 at the age of 22. His campaign manager
Campaign manager
A campaign manager is a paid or volunteer individual, whose role is to coordinate the campaign's operations such as fundraising, advertising, polling, getting out the vote , and other activities supporting the effort, directly.Apart from the candidate, they are often a campaign's most visible leader...
was new MSU College Republican chair Dick Posthumus
Dick Posthumus
Richard Posthumus is an American farmer, businessman, and politician. He was the 59th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan and majority leader of the Michigan Senate. In 2002, he was the Republican gubernatorial candidate in Michigan....
, who later went on to become Engler's Lieutenant Governor.
Engler married Colleen House in 1975. Colleen Engler, by then a state representative herself, ran unsuccessfully in the Republican gubernatorial primary in 1986. John Engler had initially declared his support for another candidate (eventual Republican nominee William Lucas), but backed Colleen Engler once she became a candidate. The couple divorced in the 1980s.
Engler married his second wife, Michelle, a lawyer, in 1990. She was named to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation
The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation , known as Freddie Mac , is a public government sponsored enterprise , headquartered in the Tyson's Corner CDP in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia....
(Freddie Mac) board in 2001 by President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and re-appointed in 2002. The couple have triplet
Multiple birth
A multiple birth occurs when more than one fetus is carried to term in a single pregnancy. Different names for multiple births are used, depending on the number of offspring. Common multiples are two and three, known as twins and triplets...
daughters born November 13, 1994. The girls are named Margaret Rose, Hannah Michelle and Madeleine Jenny.
Governorship
His administration was characterized by privatizationPrivatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
of state services, tax reduction, educational reform, welfare reform and major reorganization of executive branch departments. In 1996 he was elected Chairman of the Republican Governors Association
Republican Governors Association
The Republican Governors Association is a Washington, D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1963, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Republican Party.Its Democratic Party counterpart is the Democratic Governors Association...
.
1996 Presidential Election
During the 1996 presidential campaignUnited States presidential election, 1996
The United States presidential election of 1996 was a contest between the Democratic national ticket of President Bill Clinton of Arkansas and Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee and the Republican national ticket of former Senator Bob Dole of Kansas for President and former Housing Secretary Jack...
, Engler was considered by many political commentators and experts to be a serious potential vice presidential running mate for Republican nominee Bob Dole
Bob Dole
Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...
. Eventually, however, Dole instead selected Jack Kemp
Jack Kemp
Jack French Kemp was an American politician and a collegiate and professional football player. A Republican, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, having previously served nine terms as a congressman for Western New York's 31st...
, a former congressman and HUD Secretary
United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
The United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the President's Cabinet, and thirteenth in the Presidential line of succession. The post was created with the formation of the Department of Housing...
.
2000 Presidential Election
Engler endorsed then Texas Governor George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, in the Republican primary.
After Bush secured the GOP nomination, Engler's name began to surface as a possible running mate
Running mate
A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position but can also properly be used when referring to both candidates, such as "Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen were...
for Bush http://www.freep.com/news/politics/gov26_20000726.htm. In his book Decision Points
Decision Points
Decision Points is a memoir by former U.S. President George W. Bush. It was released on November 9, 2010, and the release was accompanied by national television appearances and a national tour. The book surpassed sales of two million copies less than two months after its release.-Content:Bush's...
, Bush says that Engler was someone he was "close" with and could "work well with." Ultimately, Engler was passed-over for the running mate position in favor of Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
. Some pundits speculated that as Engler was unsuccessful in delivering Michigan for the GOP ticket he was eliminated from contention for a coveted Cabinet position after Bush was elected. Engler's close political ally, Spencer Abraham
Spencer Abraham
Edmund Spencer Abraham is a former United States Senator from Michigan. He served as the tenth United States Secretary of Energy, serving under President George W. Bush. Abraham is one of the founders of the Federalist Society....
, who lost his re-election bid for the Senate to Debbie Stabenow
Debbie Stabenow
Deborah Ann Greer "Debbie" Stabenow is the junior United States Senator from Michigan and a member of the Democratic Party. Before her election to the U.S. Senate, she was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Michigan's 8th congressional district from 1997 to 2001...
, was however chosen as Bush's Secretary of Energy.
2002 Elections and Post-Gubernatorial work
Engler's lieutenant governor, Dick PosthumusDick Posthumus
Richard Posthumus is an American farmer, businessman, and politician. He was the 59th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan and majority leader of the Michigan Senate. In 2002, he was the Republican gubernatorial candidate in Michigan....
, sought to succeed Engler in the 2002 gubernatorial race. Despite Republican successes across the country and in Michigan, Posthumus lost a close race to the state's Attorney General, Democrat Jennifer Granholm
Jennifer Granholm
Jennifer Mulhern Granholm is a Canadian-born American politician, educator, and author who served as Attorney General and 47th Governor of the U.S. state of Michigan. A member of the Democratic Party, Granholm became Michigan's first female governor on January 1, 2003, when she succeeded Governor...
.
Since leaving the governor's mansion in January 2003, Engler served as President of the state and local government sector of Electronic Data Systems
Electronic Data Systems
HP Enterprise Services is the global business and technology services division of Hewlett Packard's HP Enterprise Business strategic business unit. It was formed by the combination of HP's legacy services consulting and outsourcing business and the integration of acquired Electronic Data Systems,...
. He left that post in August 2004.
In September 2004, Engler was named the President & CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers
National Association of Manufacturers
The National Association of Manufacturers is an advocacy group headquartered in Washington, D.C. with 10 additional offices across the country...
. Engler's six year tenure at the NAM ended in January 2010.
In January 2010, Engler was named the President of the Business Roundtable
Business Roundtable
The Business Roundtable is a politically conservative group of chief executive officers of major U.S. corporations formed to promote pro-business public policy.-History:...
.
Election results
In 1990 then State Senate Majority Leader John Engler challenged Governor James BlanchardJames Blanchard
James Johnston "Jim" Blanchard is a politician from the US state of Michigan. A Democrat, Blanchard has served in the United States House of Representatives, as the 45th Governor of Michigan, and as United States Ambassador to Canada....
in his bid for a third term. Political observers viewed Engler's bid as a long shot, and he trailed Blanchard by double digits in the polls the weekend before the election. However, on election day Engler pulled off the upset, defeating Blanchard by approximately 17,000 votes less than one percentage point.
In 1994 Engler ran for his second term. The Democrats nominated former Representative Howard Wolpe
Howard Wolpe
Howard Eliot Wolpe III was a seven-term U.S. Representative from Michigan and Presidential Special Envoy to the African Great Lakes Region in the Clinton Administration, where he led the United States delegation to the Arusha and Lusaka peace talks, which aimed to end civil wars in Burundi and the...
, who had close ties to labor movement a potent force in Democratic politics in Michigan. Engler bested Wolpe 61% – 39%, and the state Republican party made significant gains. Spencer Abraham
Spencer Abraham
Edmund Spencer Abraham is a former United States Senator from Michigan. He served as the tenth United States Secretary of Energy, serving under President George W. Bush. Abraham is one of the founders of the Federalist Society....
picked up the Senate seat of retiring Democrat Donald W. Riegle, Jr.
Donald W. Riegle, Jr.
Donald Wayne Riegle Jr. is an American politician from Michigan, who served for five terms as a Representative and for three terms as a Senator.-Early life:...
. Republicans gained a seat to break a tie in the state House of Representatives and take a 56–54 majority, while also picking up a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Republican Candice Miller
Candice Miller
Candice S. Miller is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. She is a member of the Republican Party.The district includes Michigan's Huron, Macomb, and Sanilac counties, plus portions of Lapeer and Oakland counties....
won an upset victory to win the post of Secretary of State.
Michigan voters re-elected Engler to his third and final term in 1998. He won a landslide victory over lawyer Geoffrey Fieger
Geoffrey Fieger
Geoffrey Fieger is an American attorney based in Southfield, Michigan. Fieger is the senior partner at the law firm of Fieger, Fieger, Kenney, Johnson & Giroux and is an occasional legal commentator for NBC and MSNBC...
. Engler took 1,883,005 votes 62 percent of the total to Fieger's 38 percent and 1,143,574 votes. Engler's landslide helped the state Republican party to gain six seats in the state House of Representatives, taking control of the chamber they had lost two years previously with a 58–52 margin, as well as picking up an additional seat in the State Senate, for a 23–15 majority. Republicans also gained a seat on the technically non-partisan state Supreme Court, holding a 4–3 majority over the Democrats.
Electoral history
- 1998 Race for Governor
- John Engler (R) (inc.), 62%
- Geoffrey FiegerGeoffrey FiegerGeoffrey Fieger is an American attorney based in Southfield, Michigan. Fieger is the senior partner at the law firm of Fieger, Fieger, Kenney, Johnson & Giroux and is an occasional legal commentator for NBC and MSNBC...
(D), 38%
- 1994 Race for Governor
- John Engler (R) (inc.), 61%
- Howard WolpeHoward WolpeHoward Eliot Wolpe III was a seven-term U.S. Representative from Michigan and Presidential Special Envoy to the African Great Lakes Region in the Clinton Administration, where he led the United States delegation to the Arusha and Lusaka peace talks, which aimed to end civil wars in Burundi and the...
(D), 38%
- 1990 Race for Governor
- John Engler (R), 50%
- James BlanchardJames BlanchardJames Johnston "Jim" Blanchard is a politician from the US state of Michigan. A Democrat, Blanchard has served in the United States House of Representatives, as the 45th Governor of Michigan, and as United States Ambassador to Canada....
(D) (inc.), 49%