Pierre S. du Pont, IV - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Pierre Samuel "Pete" du Pont IV (born January 22, 1935) is an American lawyer and politician from Rockland

Rockland, Delaware

Rockland is an unincorporated community in northern New Castle County, Delaware, United States. It lies along Rockland Road north of the city of Wilmington, the county seat of New Castle County. Its elevation is 194 feet . Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP...

, in New Castle County, Delaware

New Castle County, Delaware

New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of 2010 its population was 538,479, an increase of 7.6% over the previous decade. The county seat is Wilmington. The center of population of Delaware is located in New Castle County, in the town of...

, near Wilmington

Wilmington, Delaware

Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...

. He is a member of the Republican Party

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...

, who served three terms as U.S. Representative from Delaware and was the 68th governor of Delaware.

Early life and family

A member of the famous and powerful Du Pont family

Du Pont family

The Du Pont family is an American family descended from Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours . The son of a Paris watchmaker and a member of a Burgundian noble family, he and his sons, Victor Marie du Pont and Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, emigrated to the United States in 1800 and used the resources of...

, du Pont was born in Wilmington, Delaware, the son of Pierre S. du Pont III and Jane Holcomb du Pont, and great nephew of Pierre S. du Pont

Pierre S. du Pont

Pierre Samuel du Pont was president of the E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company from 1915 to 1919, and served on its Board of Directors until 1940...

, the developer of Longwood Gardens

Longwood Gardens

Longwood Gardens consists of over 1,077 acres of gardens, woodlands, and meadows in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, United States in the Brandywine Creek Valley...

. After an education at the Phillips Exeter Academy

Phillips Exeter Academy

Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...

, Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

, and Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...

, he served in the U.S. Naval Reserve (Seabee

Seabee

Seabees are members of the United States Navy construction battalions. The word Seabee is a proper noun that comes from the initials of Construction Battalion, of the United States Navy...

s) from 1957 until 1960. He is married to Elise Ravenel Wood and has four children, Elise, Pierre S duPont, V, Benjamin Franklin duPont, and Eleuthère Irénée.

Professional and political career

From 1963 until 1970 du Pont was employed by E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co

DuPont

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...

. In 1968 he was elected to the 1969-70 session of the Delaware House of Representatives

Delaware House of Representatives

The Delaware House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly; the state legislature of the U.S. State of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal amount of constituencies, each of whom is elected to a two year term. The Delaware General Assembly...

. He seriously considered a bid for the United States Senate seat won in 1972 by Democratic U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr., but realized he faced a primary election against former U.S. Representative Harry G. Haskell, Jr.

Harry G. Haskell, Jr.

Harry Garner Haskell, Jr. is an American businessman and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He is a member of the Republican Party, who served as U.S. Representative from Delaware.-Early life and family:...

He bowed to the desire of Republican leaders, including U.S. President Richard M. Nixon, to have a reluctant incumbent U.S. Senator J. Caleb Boggs

J. Caleb Boggs

James Caleb "Cale" Boggs was an American lawyer and politician from Claymont, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a veteran of World War II, and a member of the Republican Party, who served three terms as U.S. Representative from Delaware, two terms as Governor of Delaware, and two terms as...

seek a third term.

U.S. House of Representatives

In 1970 du Pont was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating Democrat John D. Daniello, a New Castle County Councilman and labor leader. He won the elections to the U.S. House of Representatives three times, also defeating Democrats Norma Handloff in 1972 and University of Delaware

University of Delaware

The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

professor James R. Soles in 1974. In Congress, du Pont supported an attempt to limit presidential authority through the War Powers Act of 1973, but was one of the last to remain loyal to U.S. President Richard M. Nixon during the impeachment process.

Governor of Delaware

Du Pont did not seek another term in the U.S. House of Representatives as he was elected Governor of Delaware in 1976, defeating incumbent Democratic Governor Sherman W. Tribbitt. He was elected to a second term as Governor in 1980, defeating Democratic State House leader, William J. Gordy, and served two terms from January 18, 1977 until January 15, 1985.

Du Pont's two terms as Governor were the major divide in the modern history of the state. Following a desperate initial confrontation with the Democratic Delaware General Assembly over the budget, both du Pont and the Delaware General Assembly developed the consensus approach to decision making so characteristic of Delaware politics to this day. As a result of this cooperation, du Pont signing into law two income tax reduction measures and a constitutional amendment that restrained future tax increases and limited government spending. The Wilmington News Journal praised these policies, saying that "he revived [the] business climate and set the stage for [Delaware's] prosperity." In 1979, he founded the nonprofit "Jobs for Delaware Graduates," an employment counseling and job placement program for high school seniors not bound for college. This program was the model for other programs currently functioning in many states and foreign countries.

Du Pont helped establish the credit card industry in Delaware. With the cooperation of the leadership of both parties and many others in state and local government, the Financial Center Development Act was passed, effective June 1, 1981. Intended to attract two New York state banks that would hire at least 1,000 employees, it actually brought over thirty banks to the state and created some 43,000 new finance related jobs. Wilmington and the rest of New Castle County, were completely transformed. Du Pont's action led the state away from its previous dependence on the chemical industry in general and the Du Pont Company, in particular.

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Delaware General Assembly
(sessions while Governor)
|-
!Year
!Assembly
!
!Senate Majority
!President
pro tempore
!
!House Majority
!Speaker
|-
|1977–1978
|129th

Delaware General Assembly

The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 Senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 Representatives...

|
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

Democratic Party (United States)

| |Kenneth W. Boulden
John P. Ferguson
|-
|1979–1980
|130th

Delaware General Assembly

|
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

Republican Party (United States)

| |Robert W. Riddagh
|-
|1981–1982
|131st

Delaware General Assembly

|
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

Republican Party (United States)

| |Charles L. Hebner
|-
|1983–1984
|132nd

Delaware General Assembly

|
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

Democratic Party (United States)

| |Orlando J. George, Jr.
|-

Presidential aspirations

With his term as Governor forced by law to end in 1985, du Pont, as the dominant Delaware politician, was widely expected by many to challenge for the U.S. Senate incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr

Joe Biden

Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...

. But du Pont never found much interest in legislative politics and declined to run, preparing instead for a long shot bid for the Republican U.S. Presidential nomination in the United States presidential election, 1988

United States presidential election, 1988

The United States presidential election of 1988 featured no incumbent president, as President Ronald Reagan was unable to seek re-election after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the Twenty-second Amendment. Reagan's Vice President, George H. W. Bush, won the Republican nomination, while the...

. He declared his intent on September 16, 1986, before anyone else. Coincidentally, Biden was also seeking his party's nomination.

Running in earnest through the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary

New Hampshire primary

The New Hampshire primary is the first in a series of nationwide political party primary elections held in the United States every four years , as part of the process of choosing the Democratic and Republican nominees for the presidential elections to be held the subsequent November.Although only a...

, du Pont presented an unconventional, but thoughtful program. As described by Celia Cohen in her book, Only in Delaware, du Pont, "wanted to reform Social Security by offering recipients private savings options in exchange for a corresponding reduction in government benefits. He proposed phasing out government subsidies for farmers. He said he would wean welfare clients off their benefits and get them into the workforce, even if government had to provide entry level jobs to get them started. He suggested students be subjected to mandatory, random drug tests with those who flunked losing their drivers [sic] licenses." These ideas were unusual enough that they left plenty of opportunity to paint du Pont as a novice and an oddity. In one of the debates future U.S. President George H. W. Bush

George H. W. Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...

made gentle fun of du Pont's first name, and called it "nutty to fool around with the Social Security system." After finishing next to last in the New Hampshire primary, du Pont left the race.

Later career

In 1984 du Pont served as Chairman of the Education Commission of the States, a national organization of educators dedicated to improving all facets of American education. He has also served as Chairman of the Hudson Institute

Hudson Institute

The Hudson Institute is an American think tank founded in 1961, in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist, military strategist, and systems theorist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporation...

from 1985 until 1987 and the National Review Institute from 1994 until 1997.

, du Pont is the Chairman of the Board for the National Center for Policy Analysis

National Center for Policy Analysis

The National Center for Policy Analysis is a non-profit American conservative think tank whose goals are to develop and promote private alternatives to government regulation and control...

, a think tank based in Dallas, Texas; he is a director with the Wilmington, Delaware law firm of Richards, Layton, and Finger, and he writes the monthly Outside the Box column for the Wall Street Journal newspaper.

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Public Offices
|-
! Office
! Type
! Location
! Began office
! Ended office
! notes
|-
|State Representative

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

|Legislature

Legislature

|Washington

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

United States House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Washington

Washington, D.C.

United States House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Washington

Washington, D.C.

Executive (government)

Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Executive (government)

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

|January 20, 1981
|January 15, 1985
|

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Delaware General Assembly service
|-
! Dates
! Assembly
! Chamber
! Majority
! Governor
! Committees
! District
|-
|1969–1970
|125th

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|Republican

Republican Party (United States)

|Russell W. Peterson

Russell W. Peterson

Russell Wilbur "Russ" Peterson was an American scientist and politician from Wilmington, Delaware. He served as Governor of Delaware as a member of the Republican Party...

|
|New Castle 12th

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |United States Congressional service
|-
! Dates
! Congress
! Chamber
! Majority
! President
! Committees
! Class/District
|-
|1971 – 1973
|92nd

92nd United States Congress

The Ninety-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives...

|U.S. House

United States House of Representatives

|Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

|Richard M. Nixon
|
|at-large

Delaware's At-large congressional district

Delaware's At-large congressional district is a congressional district that includes the entire U.S. state of Delaware.It is currently represented by Democrat John C. Carney, Jr., the former Lieutenant Governor of Delaware.-Voting:-History:...

|-
|1973 – 1975
|93rd

93rd United States Congress

The Ninety-third United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1973 to January 3, 1975, during the end of Richard...

|U.S. House

United States House of Representatives

|Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

|Richard M. Nixon
Gerald R. Ford
|
|at-large

Delaware's At-large congressional district

|-
|1975 – 1977
|94th

94th United States Congress

The Ninety-fourth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1975 to January 3, 1977, during the administration...

|U.S. House

United States House of Representatives

|Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

|Gerald R. Ford
|
|at-large

Delaware's At-large congressional district

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=13 style="background: #ccccff;" |Election results
|-
!Year
!Office
!Election
!
!Subject
!Party
!Votes
!%
!
!Opponent
!Party
!Votes
!%
|-
|1970
|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

|General

General election

In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...

Republican Party (United States)

| |86,125
| |54%
|
| |John D. Daniello
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

| |71,429
| |46%
|-
|1972
|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

|General

General election

Republican Party (United States)

| |141,237
| |63%
|
| |Norma Handloft
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

| |83,230
| |37%
|-
|1974
|U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

|General

General election

Republican Party (United States)

| |93,826
| |58%
|
| |James S. Soles
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

| |63,490
| |40%
|-
|1976
|Governor
|General

General election

Republican Party (United States)

| |130,531
| |57%
|
| |Sherman W. Tribbitt

Sherman W. Tribbitt

Sherman Willard Tribbitt was an American merchant and politician from Odessa, in New Castle County, Delaware...

| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

| |97,480
| |42%
|-
|1980
|Governor
|General

General election

Republican Party (United States)

| |159,004
| |71%
|
| |William J. Gordy
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

| |64,217
| |29%

External links

Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society
Delaware Historical Society
The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a state-wide historical institution with several venues and a major museum in Wilmington and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle.The society...

; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965

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