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George J. Mitchell

George John Mitchell Jr. (born August 20, 1933)[2] is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. A leading member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from Maine from 1980 to 1995, and as Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995. After retiring from the Senate, Mitchell played a leading role in negotiations for peace in Northern Ireland and the Middle East. He was appointed United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland (1995–2001) by President Clinton and as United States Special Envoy for Middle East Peace (2009–2011) by President Barack Obama.

George Mitchell
Mitchell in 1980
United States Special Envoy for Middle East Peace
In office
January 22, 2009 – May 13, 2011
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byTony Zinni (2003)
Succeeded byDavid Hale
Vice Chair of the 9/11 Commission
In office
November 27, 2002 – December 11, 2002[1]
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byLee H. Hamilton
8th Chancellor of the Queen's University, Belfast
In office
May 5, 1999 – March 29, 2009
Preceded byDavid Orr
Succeeded byKamalesh Sharma
United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland
In office
January 3, 1995 – January 20, 2001
PresidentBill Clinton
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byRichard N. Haass
Senate Majority Leader
In office
January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1995
DeputyAlan Cranston
Wendell Ford
Preceded byRobert Byrd
Succeeded byBob Dole
Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus
In office
January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1995
Preceded byRobert Byrd
Succeeded byTom Daschle
Deputy President pro tempore of the United States Senate
In office
January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1989
PresidentJohn C. Stennis
Preceded byHubert Humphrey (1978)
Succeeded byVacant
United States Senator
from Maine
In office
May 17, 1980 – January 3, 1995
Preceded byEdmund Muskie
Succeeded byOlympia Snowe
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maine
In office
October 5, 1979 – May 16, 1980
Appointed byJimmy Carter
Preceded bySeat established
Succeeded byConrad K. Cyr
United States Attorney for the District of Maine
In office
1977–1979
PresidentJimmy Carter
Preceded byPeter Mills
Succeeded byJames Brannigan
Personal details
Born
George John Mitchell Jr.

(1933-08-20) August 20, 1933 (age 89)
Waterville, Maine, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)
Sally Heath
(m. 1961; div. 1987)

Heather MacLachlan
(m. 1994)
Children3
EducationBowdoin College (BA)
Georgetown University (LLB)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1954–1956
RankFirst Lieutenant
UnitCounterintelligence Corps

Mitchell was a primary architect of the 1996 Mitchell Principles and the 1998 Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, and was the main investigator in two "Mitchell Reports": one on the Arab–Israeli conflict (2001); and one on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball (2007).

Mitchell served as chairman of The Walt Disney Company from March 2004 until January 2007, and later as chairman of the international law firm DLA Piper. He was the Chancellor of Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from 1999 to 2009. Mitchell also has served as a co-chair of the Housing Commission at the Bipartisan Policy Center.[3]

Early life

Origins

Mitchell was born in Waterville, Maine. His father, George John Mitchell Sr. (born Joseph Kilroy), was born in Ireland and adopted by a Lebanese American when he was orphaned.[4][5] Mitchell's father was a janitor at Colby College in Waterville, where Mitchell was raised. Mitchell's mother, Mary (née Saad), was a textile worker who immigrated to the United States in 1920 from Bkassine, Lebanon, at the age of eighteen.[5][6]

Mitchell was raised a Maronite Catholic and in his childhood served as an altar boy at St. Joseph's Maronite Church in Maine.[7][8] Throughout junior high school and high school, he worked as a janitor.[9] In the family of five children, all three of his brothers were athletes; though a talented student as a child, he found himself overshadowed by his brothers' athletic achievements.[9]

Education and military service

After graduating from high school at the age of sixteen,[4] Mitchell attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where he worked several jobs and played on the basketball team.[4] He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1954, intending to attend graduate school and then teach, but instead served in the United States Army from 1954 to 1956, rising to First Lieutenant. In 1961, Mitchell received his Bachelor of Laws from Georgetown University Law Center by attending its part-time program at night. He has since received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Bates College.

Political career

Early legal career

After having performed well academically at Georgetown, Mitchell served as a trial attorney for the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice in Washington from 1960 to 1962, and then as executive assistant to Senator Edmund S. Muskie from 1962 to 1965, where he first gained interest in the political world.[9] Afterwards, Mitchell practiced law with Jensen & Baird[10] in Portland, Maine, from 1965 to 1977 and was assistant county attorney for Cumberland County, Maine, in 1971.

From judge to senator

 
Senator George Mitchell

In 1974 Mitchell won the Democratic nomination for governor of Maine, defeating Joseph E. Brennan. He lost in the general election to independent candidate James B. Longley, but was appointed United States Attorney for Maine by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Mitchell served in that capacity from 1977 to 1979.

Mitchell was nominated by President Carter on July 31, 1979, to the United States District Court for the District of Maine, to a new seat authorized by 92 Stat. 1629. He was confirmed by the Senate on October 4, 1979, and received his commission on October 5, 1979. His service terminated on May 16, 1980, due to his resignation.

Mitchell was appointed to the United States Senate in May 1980 by the governor of Maine, Joseph Brennan, when Edmund Muskie resigned to become US Secretary of State.

After serving out the remainder of Muskie's term, Mitchell was elected to his first full term in 1982 with approximately 61 percent of the vote against Congressman David Emery, and rose quickly in the Senate Democratic leadership. He was elected as the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 1984, helping the Democrats regain control of the Senate in 1986 with a net eight new seats and a 55—45 majority in the Senate. He served as Deputy President pro tempore in the 100th United States Congress, because of the illness of President pro tempore John C. Stennis, and remains the only senator other than Hubert Humphrey to have held that post.

The position of Deputy President pro tempore was created specifically to be held by a current Senator who is a former president or former Vice President of the United States. Humphrey is a former Vice President of the United States and Mitchell is the only person to have been Deputy President pro tempore who has never held one or both of the two highest offices of the US government.

In 1988 Mitchell was reelected with 81 percent of the vote, the largest margin of victory in a Senate election that year and the largest majority ever for a senator from Maine.

 
Mitchell in 2009

Mitchell voted in favor of the bill establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday and the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 (as well as to override President Reagan's veto).[11][12][13] Mitchell voted against the nominations of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court, stating explicitly that he believed Thomas’ nomination constituted a racial quota.[14]

Senate Majority Leader

Mitchell served as Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995. While in this role, Mitchell led the movement to reauthorize the Clean Air Act in 1990 and pass the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Additionally, under his leadership, the Senate approved the North American Free Trade Agreement and the formation of the World Trade Organization.

In 1994, he turned down an offer of appointment by President Bill Clinton to the United States Supreme Court,[4] to replace the retiring Harry A. Blackmun so that he could continue helping with efforts in the Senate to pass significant health-care legislation. The seat ultimately went to Stephen Breyer. Nevertheless, Congress was not able to pass any significant health-care legislation at the time, and Mitchell did not run for reelection in 1994.

Political leanings

For 1994, Mitchell's last year in the Senate, the American Conservative Union gave him a rating of 0.00 on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 being most conservative.[15] For the same year, the Americans for Democratic Action gave him a score of 90 on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 being most liberal.[16]

After the Senate

Mitchell has served as a director of companies including Walt Disney Company; FedEx; Xerox; Unilever; Staples, Inc.; Starwood; and the Boston Red Sox baseball team. After leaving the Senate, Mitchell joined the Washington, D.C., law firm Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand; he later became the firm's chairman. He was criticized for lobbying on behalf of the firm's Big Tobacco clients.[17][18] He is also senior counsel to Preti, Flaherty, Beliveau, Pachios, Orlick & Haley in Portland, Maine. He is Partner and Chairman of the Global Board of DLA Piper, US LLP, a global law firm. Mitchell served as an Advisor of ZeniMax Media Inc.[19] He has also served on the advisory board of The Iris Network, a nonprofit blindness rehabilitation agency in Portland.[20]

In 2007, Mitchell joined fellow former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Bob Dole, and Tom Daschle to found the Bipartisan Policy Center, a non-profit think tank that works to develop policies suitable for bipartisan support.[21]

Democratic politics

 
Senate portrait of Majority Leader George Mitchell

Mitchell was reportedly among those considered by Al Gore as a running mate for his 2000 presidential run, but Gore selected Joe Lieberman.[22] Had Mitchell been nominated and had the Democratic ticket won that year, he would have been the first Arab American to serve as the Vice President of the United States, and only the second Vice President from Maine, after Hannibal Hamlin. He also was mentioned in both 2000 and in 2004 as a potential Secretary of State for a Democratic administration, due to his role as Senate Leader and the Good Friday agreements.

Education

Since 2002, Mitchell has been a Senior Fellow and Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University's Center for International Conflict Resolution, where he works to help end or avert conflicts between nations. He was the Chancellor of the Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland, until his resignation in April 2009, and namesake of the George J. Mitchell Scholarship, which sponsors graduate study for twelve Americans each year in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

He is the founder of the Mitchell Institute, in Portland, Maine, whose mission is to increase the likelihood that young people from every community in Maine will aspire to, pursue and achieve a college education.[23] In 2007, he became a visiting Professor in Leeds Metropolitan University's School of Applied Global Ethics, and the university is developing a new Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution bearing his name.[24]

Mitchell Report (Arab–Israeli conflict)

Mitchell led an American fact-finding commission initiated under President Bill Clinton in 2000 intended to find solutions for solving the situation between Israel and the Palestinians. Mitchell's report, published in 2001, stressed the need for Israel to halt the expansion of its settlements in the Palestinian territories and for the Palestinians to prevent violence. Interest in the report was renewed when Mitchell was named Special Envoy for Middle East Peace in 2009.[25]

United Nations

Mitchell served as co-chairman (with Newt Gingrich) of the Congressionally mandated Task Force on the United Nations, which released its findings and recommendations on June 15, 2005, after having been formed that January.

World Justice Project

George J. Mitchell serves as an Honorary Co-chair for the World Justice Project. The World Justice Project works to lead a global, multidisciplinary effort to strengthen the Rule of Law for the development of communities of opportunity and equity.

Northern Ireland peace process

 
The Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security & Justice, established in 2016 at Queen's University Belfast

Since 1995, Mitchell has been active in the Northern Ireland peace process, having served as the United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland under President Bill Clinton. He first led an international body to review options for paramilitary arms decommissioning, which produced the Mitchell Principles that regulated access to subsequent all-party peace talks. Mitchell then co-chaired the all-party talks, leading to the Belfast Agreement, signed on Good Friday 1998 (known since as the "Good Friday Agreement"). Mitchell's mediation between the parties was crucial to the success of the talks.[26] He was succeeded as special envoy by Richard Haass.[27]

For his leadership in the Northern Ireland peace negotiations, Mitchell was awarded the Liberty Medal (on July 4, 1998) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (on March 17, 1999). In accepting the Liberty Medal, he stated: "I believe there's no such thing as a conflict that can't be ended. They're created and sustained by human beings. They can be ended by human beings. No matter how ancient the conflict, no matter how hateful, no matter how hurtful, peace can prevail."[28]

Chairman of Disney

On March 4, 2004, Disney's board of directors, on which Mitchell had served since 1995, named him Michael Eisner's replacement as Chairman of the Board after 43% of the company's shares were voted against Eisner's reelection (35% was the minimum for disposal). Mitchell himself received a 24% negative vote,[29] a fact that led dissident Disney shareholders Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold to criticize the appointment of Mitchell, whom they saw as Eisner's puppet.

Having already served on the boards of companies including Xerox, Starwood, FedEx, and Staples, Inc., Mitchell assumed his new role at a particularly tumultuous time in the company's history, needing to face such issues as Comcast's hostile takeover attempts and a possible split with Pixar.[29] Mitchell played an important role in the selection of Robert A. Iger as Eisner's successor as CEO in 2005.[29] On June 28, 2006, Disney announced that its board had elected one of its members, John Pepper Jr., former CEO of Procter & Gamble, to replace Mitchell as chairman effective January 1, 2007.[30]

Baseball's steroids investigation

In 2006, Mitchell was tapped by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig to lead an investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs by Major League Baseball players. The investigation derived largely from charges against Barry Bonds, and revelations in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) trials of Victor Conte and Greg Anderson. Selig has said that revelations brought forth in the 2005 book Game of Shadows were, by way of calling attention to the issue, in part responsible for the league's decision to commission an independent investigation. To this day Mitchell is known to have held meetings with only two active players, Jason Giambi, who was ordered to meet Mitchell by Commissioner Selig in light of his public admissions on the issue, and one additional player whose name was initially not made public but was later revealed to be Frank Thomas.[31] Mitchell did however hold extensive meetings with several known steroid dealers, club attendants, personal trainers, and others who had ties to all players named in the report. Even though the union that protects the players had pressured all but Giambi and Thomas into maintaining the culture of silence that had helped the drug problem remain a secret, there was plenty of other evidence against those named in his report.

Mitchell released a 409-page report of his findings on December 13, 2007.[32] The report includes the names of 89 former and current players for whom it claims evidence of use of steroids or other prohibited substances exists. This list includes names of Most Valuable Players and All-Stars, such as Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Miguel Tejada, Denny Neagle, Paul Lo Duca, David Justice, Barry Bonds, Éric Gagné, Todd Hundley, Randy Velarde, and Benito Santiago.

Mitchell was criticized for having a conflict of interest with the report as he was a director of the Boston Red Sox, especially because no prime Red Sox players were named in the report,[33] despite the fact that Red Sox stars David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were later accused of using performance-enhancing substances during the 2003 season, as reported by The New York Times on July 30, 2009.[34] Likewise, the report was commissioned by Selig, and no members of the Milwaukee Brewers, whom Selig once owned, appeared in the report. The Los Angeles Times reported that Mitchell acknowledged that his "tight relationship with Major League Baseball left him open to criticism".[35] Mitchell responded to the concerns by stating that readers who examined the report closely "will not find any evidence of bias, of special treatment of the Red Sox".[35]

Special Envoy for Middle East Peace

 
Mitchell, as Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
 
Mitchell, together with Benjamin Netanyahu, Mahmoud Abbas, and Hillary Clinton at the start of direct talks on September 2, 2010.

On January 22, 2009, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appointed Mitchell as the administration's Special Envoy to the Arab-Israeli peace process, formally known as the "Special Envoy for Middle East Peace".[36] The appointment was seen as an indication of the new Obama administration's increased focus on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The choice of Mitchell allowed Obama to demonstrate the seriousness and sincerity of his intentions regarding the peace process, without forcing him to immediately embark on a specific initiative before conditions were yet ripe. An analyst at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars said Mitchell's appointment "says to the world, 'I care about this issue; be patient with me.'"[36] Abraham Foxman, the National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, has stated that, "Sen. Mitchell is fair. He's been meticulously even-handed".[37]

Within the first week of his appointment, Mitchell was dispatched to visit Israel, the West Bank, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia for peace discussions in light of the 2008-09 Gaza War between Israel and the Gaza Strip, in which both sides had recently entered into unilateral ceasefires. Mitchell began his meetings in Cairo on January 27, and Obama said his visit was part of the president's campaign promise to listen to both sides of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and negotiate a peace deal. However, in a continuation of a George W. Bush administration policy, Mitchell did not plan to talk to Hamas, a group Israel and the United States consider a terrorist organization, but instead focus on talks with the Palestinian National Authority.[38] Mitchell first met with new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February 2009[39] and has met with many notable figures of the Middle East since. In 2010, he led the US delegation to the Palestine Investment Conference.[40][41]

On May 13, 2011, George Mitchell tendered his resignation from the post of Special Envoy to the Middle East.[42] Obama praised Mitchell, stating, "His deep commitment to resolving conflict and advancing democracy has contributed immeasurably to the goal of two states [Israel and Palestine] living side by side in peace and security."[43]

San Bruno pipeline explosion

In 2012, Mitchell was asked to lead talks towards determining fines involved in the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion.[44]

Consultant and advisor

In June 2014, Mitchell was hired as a senior advisor at the public relations and advisory company Teneo,[45] a firm closely connected to the Clintons.[46] Like Mitchell, who in 1995[45] had been appointed special envoy to Northern Ireland by President Bill Clinton,[46] Teneo founder and CEO Declan Kelly had been appointed economic envoy to Northern Ireland in September 2009 by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.[46][47]

Personal life

Mitchell was married for 26 years until he and his wife Sally divorced in 1987. They are the parents of a daughter, Andrea. In December 1994, he married Heather MacLachlan, 35, a sports management consultant.[48][49] They have a son, Andrew, and daughter, Claire, named in honor of Claire Bowes (née Gallagher) who had so inspired him when she was blinded in the Omagh bombing.[50]

Mitchell was diagnosed with a "small, low grade, and localized" prostate cancer in 2007.[51]

In August 2020, he was diagnosed with leukemia.[52]

Epstein scandal

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, a woman who has long claimed that disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein forced her to have sex with powerful men, named Mitchell in documents unsealed on August 9, 2019 (a day before Epstein's death) by a Federal court in the Southern District of New York. The papers included affidavits and depositions of key witnesses in a 2015 lawsuit that Giuffre filed against Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.[53] Giuffre accused the two individuals of sex-trafficking her to high-profile individuals, including Mitchell, in the early 2000s while she was underage.[54][55] Mitchell denied ever having met or spoken with Giuffre, and stated that he became aware of Epstein's criminal prosecution only through the media.[54]

On November 30, 2021, Epstein's former pilot Larry Visoski named Mitchell as one of the people he recalled flying on one of Epstein's private planes, but claimed to have never seen sexual activity nor indication that such activity had taken place.[56][57]

Awards and honors

In 1994, Mitchell received the US Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, an award distributed annually by Jefferson Awards.[58]

In recognition for his role in the Northern Ireland peace process, Mitchell was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Liberty Medal, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998.[59] In addition, in 1999 Mitchell was invested as an Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE).

In 2002, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[60][61]

In 2003, he received the Freedom Medal.[62]

On January 28, 2014, a portrait of Mitchell was unveiled for display at the Maine State Capitol alongside those of other notable Mainers.[63]

On April 10, 2018, Mitchell was awarded Freedom of the City of Belfast, alongside former President Bill Clinton in a ceremony at the Ulster Hall.[64]

Books

  • (with Senator William Cohen, co-author) Men of Zeal: A Candid Inside Story of the Iran-Contra Hearings (September 1988) ISBN 978-0670822522
  • World on Fire: Saving an Endangered Earth (January 1991) ISBN 978-0684192314
  • Not For America Alone: The Triumph of Democracy and The Fall of Communism (May 1997) ISBN 978-1568360836
  • Making Peace (April 1999 – 1st Edition, July 2000 – Updated) ISBN 978-0434007554 ISBN 978-1501153914
  • The Negotiator: A Memoir (May 2015) ISBN 978-1451691399
  • (with Alon Sachar, co-author) A Path to Peace: A Brief History of Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations and a Way Forward in the Middle East (November 2016) ISBN 978-1501153914

See also

References

  1. ^ Barrett, Ted; Karl, Jonathan (December 11, 2002). "Mitchell quits 9/11 probe". CNN. from the original on September 9, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  2. ^ "Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress - Retro Member details". from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  3. ^ Bipartisan Policy Center's Housing Commission October 31, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ a b c d Altman, Alex (January 22, 2009). "Middle East Envoy George Mitchell". Time. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
  5. ^ a b "Senator George Mitchell". The Maine Mag. August 12, 2013. from the original on September 8, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  6. ^ Diehl, Jackson. "An Old Mission for George Mitchell". The Washington Post. from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  7. ^ AFP, Obama's new Mideast envoy begins regional tour in Egypt, January 27, 2009.
  8. ^ Marantz, Steve (1994). . The Sporting News. Archived from the original on November 15, 2011.
  9. ^ a b c . Academy of Achievement. Archived from the original on January 24, 2010. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  10. ^ A History—Jensen Baird Gardner & Henry 2018-09-27 at the Wayback Machine - Jensen Baird Gardner & Henry
  11. ^ "TO PASS H.R. 3706. (MOTION PASSED) SEE NOTE(S) 19". from the original on May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  12. ^ "TO PASS S 557, CIVIL RIGHTS RESTORATION ACT, A BILL TO RESTORE THE BROAD COVERAGE AND CLARIFY FOUR CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS BY PROVIDING THAT IF ONE PART OF AN INSTITUTION IS FEDERALLY FUNDED, THEN THE ENTIRE INSTITUTION MUST NOT DISCRIMINATE". from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  13. ^ "TO ADOPT, OVER THE PRESIDENT'S VETO OF S 557, CIVIL RIGHTS RESTORATION ACT, A BILL TO RESTORE BROAD COVERAGE OF FOUR CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS BY DECLARING THAT IF ONE PART OF AN INSTITUTION RECEIVES FEDERAL FUNDS, THEN THE ENTIRE INSTITUTION MUST NOT DISCRIMINATE. TWO-THIRDS OF THE SENATE, HAVING VOTED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE, OVERRODE THE PRESIDENTIAL VETO". from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  14. ^ ‘Mitchell: Bush Used Quota in Court Pick’; The Day (New London, Connecticut), July 9, 1991, p. A3
  15. ^ . Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2011.
  16. ^ (PDF). adaction.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 4, 2010.
  17. ^ Weisberg, Jacob (August 10, 1997). "Liberal Tobacco Whores". Slate Magazine. from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  18. ^ Dowd, Maureen (May 17, 1998). "Liberties; Nicotine-Stained Halo". The New York Times. from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  19. ^ . Archived from the original on July 20, 2007. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  20. ^ "Advisory Board". from the original on December 25, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  21. ^ "About BPC – Bipartisan Policy Center". bipartisanpolicy.org. from the original on May 18, 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  22. ^ King, John (July 14, 2000). . CNN. Archived from the original on November 4, 2008. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  23. ^ "Senator George J. Mitchell Scholarship Research Institute – The Mitchell Institute". The Mitchell Institute. from the original on March 8, 2010. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
  24. ^ . Leeds Metropolitan University. 2004. Archived from the original on January 1, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  25. ^ Wilson, Scott (July 14, 2012). "Obama searches for Middle East peace". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  26. ^ Samantha Power, "George Mitchell" TIME Magazine. 5/12/2008, pp 76+ (cover story).
  27. ^ Cathy Gormley-Heenan, Political leadership and the Northern Ireland peace process: Role, capacity and effect (Springer, 2006).
  28. ^ "1998 Recipient George Mitchell - Liberty Medal - National Constitution Center". constitutioncenter.org. from the original on October 23, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  29. ^ a b c Holson, Laura M. (March 10, 2004). "Former P. & G. Chief Named Disney Chairman". The New York Times. from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
  30. ^ Holson, Laura M. (June 29, 2006). "Market Place; Eisner Vote Forces Disney To Catch Up". The New York Times. from the original on October 31, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
  31. ^ Curry, Jack (December 15, 2007). "One Player Who Spoke With Mitchell Wonders Why So Few Others Did". The New York Times. from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
  32. ^ . Yahoo.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2008. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  33. ^ "Mitchell report: Baseball slow to react to players' steroid use". ESPN.com. December 14, 2007. from the original on December 16, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2007.
  34. ^ Schmidt, Michael S. (July 30, 2009). "Ortiz and Ramirez Said to Be on '03 Doping List". The New York Times.
  35. ^ a b Johnson, Greg (December 14, 2007). "Mitchell cites unbiased history". Los Angeles Times.
  36. ^ a b Landler, Mark (January 21, 2009). "Seasoned Negotiator to Serve as a Mideast Envoy". The New York Times. from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  37. ^ Besser, James D. (January 21, 2009). "Mitchell As Envoy Could Split Center". The Jewish Week. from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  38. ^ Witte, Griff. "Blast at Gaza Border Kills Israeli Soldier; Palestinian Farmer Killed by Gunfire." 2017-08-27 at the Wayback Machine The Washington Post, January 28, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2008.
  39. ^ . Huffington Post. February 26, 2009. Archived from the original on February 27, 2009.
  40. ^ . BusinessWeek. June 5, 2010. Archived from the original on June 11, 2010. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
  41. ^ Remarks by Senator George J. Mitchell at Palestine Investment Conference. 2010-07-14 at the Wayback Machine Consulate General of the United States in Jerusalem, June 3, 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  42. ^ "George Mitchell resigns as Middle East envoy". CNN. May 13, 2011. from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
  43. ^ Myers, Steven (May 13, 2011). "Amid Impasse in Peace Negotiations, America's Chief Middle East Envoy Resigns". The New York Times. from the original on October 15, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  44. ^ . Mercury News. Archived from the original on November 10, 2012.
  45. ^ a b Staff Writer (August 15, 2021). "George Mitchell Fast Facts". CNN. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  46. ^ a b c Bade, Rachael (April 16, 2016). "How a Clinton insider used his ties to build a consulting giant". Politico. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  47. ^ Lorenzetti, Laura (June 9, 2014). "Global consulting firm Teneo hires two political powerhouses". Fortune. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  48. ^ "The Maine Man", CBS 2011-11-15 at the Wayback Machine
  49. ^ "Answers – The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions". Answers.com. from the original on January 23, 2009. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
  50. ^ Kelly, Peter (April 15, 2016). "Mitchell condemns 'failure of justice' for Omagh". Ulster Herald. from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  51. ^ Quinn, T.J. (August 10, 2007). "Mitchell diagnosed with cancer. Mitchell is of Lebanese descent, his mother migrated to the United States in 1920". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  52. ^ "Former Maine Sen. George Mitchell diagnosed with leukemia". Boston.com. from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  53. ^ Brown, Julie K.; Blaskey, Sarah (August 10, 2019). "Huge cache of newly unsealed records detail how Jeffrey Epstein and his madam allegedly lured girls into sexual servitude". Sun-Sentinel. Associated Press. some prominent, wealthy men . . . are spattered throughout. . . . They include: . . . Marvin Minsky . . . Jean-Luc Brunel . . . Bill Richardson . . . former Sen. George Mitchell . . . Tom Pritzker . . . Glenn Dubin . . . Alan Dershowitz . . . and Prince Andrew.
  54. ^ a b Sherman, Gabriel (August 9, 2019). "Powerful Men, Disturbing New Details in Unsealed Epstein Documents". Vanity Fair. from the original on August 10, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  55. ^ Virginia Roberts Giuffre (May 3, 2016), "CONFIDENTIAL VIDEOTAPED DEPOSITION OF VIRGINIA GIUFFRE", VIRGINIA GIUFFRE vs. GHISLAINE MAXWELL (Mitchell's name appears on p. 194 of the original document, which appears on p. 51 of the PDF.)
  56. ^ Lauren del Valle and Eric Levenson (November 30, 2021). "Jeffrey Epstein's former pilot testifies Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Prince Andrew flew aboard Epstein's private plane". CNN. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  57. ^ "Full list of people named on Jeffrey Epstein's 'Lolita Express'". Newsweek. December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  58. ^ . Jefferson Awards. Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
  59. ^ Hoge, Warren (October 17, 1998). "2 Ulster Peacemakers Win the Nobel Prize". The New York Times. from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  60. ^ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement. from the original on December 15, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  61. ^ "2003 Summit Highlights Photo". from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021. Members of the American Academy of Achievement, philanthropist and entrepreneur Leonard A. Lauder, and the former Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate, the Honorable George J. Mitchell, at the Banquet of the Golden Plate.
  62. ^ Four Freedoms Award#Freedom Medal
  63. ^ "Mitchell to Maine Legislature: It's possible to work together". Kennebec Journal. January 28, 2014. from the original on October 12, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  64. ^ "Clintion and Mitchell given freedom of Belfast on 20th anniversary of peace deal". The Irish Times. April 10, 2018. from the original on April 10, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2019.

Further reading

  • Bosse, Michael R. "George J. Mitchell: Maine's Environmental Senator." Maine Law Review 47 (1995): 179+. online
  • Curran, Daniel, and James Sebenius. "The mediator as coalition builder: George Mitchell in Northern Ireland." International Negotiation 8.1 (2003): 111-147 online.
  • Curran, Daniel, James K. Sebenius, and Michael Watkins. "Two Paths to Peace: Contrasting George Mitchell in Northern Ireland with Richard Holbrooke in Bosnia–Herzegovina." Negotiation Journal 20.4 (2004): 513-537 online.
  • Gormley-Heenan, Cathy. Political leadership and the Northern Ireland peace process: Role, capacity and effect (Springer, 2006).
  • Gould, Alberta. George Mitchell: In Search of Peace. Farmington, Maine: Heritage Pub., 1996
  • Mackenzie, G. Calvin. "Senator George Mitchell and the Constitution." Maine Law Review 47 (1995): 163+ online.
  • Mitchell, George J. "Toward Peace in Northern Ireland." Fordham International Law Journal 22 (1998): 1136+. a primary source

Fiction

  • McCann, Colum. Transatlantic. Random House, New York, 2013. Novel.

External links

1 Previously appointed to the office by then-Governor Joe Brennan in 1980 following the resignation of Ed Muskie to become Secretary of State

US Senate (General Election)
Year Candidate Party Pct Opponent Party Pct
1982 George Mitchell (inc.)1 Democratic 61% David F. Emery Republican 39%
1988 George Mitchell (inc.) Democratic 81% Jasper Wyman Republican 19%
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Governor of Maine
1974
Succeeded by
Preceded by Democratic nominee for US Senator from Maine
(Class 1)

1982, 1988
Succeeded by
Preceded by Response to the State of the Union address
1986
Served alongside: Tom Daschle, Bill Gray, Chuck Robb, Harriett Woods
Succeeded by
Preceded by Senate Democratic Leader
1989–1995
Succeeded by
Chair of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee
1989–1995
Served alongside: Tom Daschle
Succeeded by
Legal offices
New seat Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maine
1979–1980
Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by US Senator (Class 1) from Maine
1980–1995
Served alongside: William Cohen
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
1985–1987
Succeeded by
Vacant
Title last held by
Hubert Humphrey
Deputy President pro tempore of the United States Senate
1987–1989
Vacant
Preceded by Senate Majority Leader
1989–1995
Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
New office United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland
1995–2001
Succeeded by
Vacant
Title last held by
Tony Zinni
United States Special Envoy for Middle East Peace
2009–2011
Succeeded by
Academic offices
Preceded by Chancellor of the Queen's University, Belfast
1999–2009
Succeeded by
Business positions
Preceded by Chair of the Disney Company
2004–2007
Succeeded by
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Former President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate Order of precedence of the United States
as Former US Senate Majority Leader
Succeeded byas Former US Senate Majority Leader

george, mitchell, senator, mitchell, redirects, here, other, uses, senator, mitchell, disambiguation, george, john, mitchell, born, august, 1933, american, politician, diplomat, lawyer, leading, member, democratic, party, served, united, states, senator, from,. Senator Mitchell redirects here For other uses see Senator Mitchell disambiguation George John Mitchell Jr born August 20 1933 2 is an American politician diplomat and lawyer A leading member of the Democratic Party he served as a United States senator from Maine from 1980 to 1995 and as Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995 After retiring from the Senate Mitchell played a leading role in negotiations for peace in Northern Ireland and the Middle East He was appointed United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland 1995 2001 by President Clinton and as United States Special Envoy for Middle East Peace 2009 2011 by President Barack Obama George MitchellMitchell in 1980United States Special Envoy for Middle East PeaceIn office January 22 2009 May 13 2011PresidentBarack ObamaPreceded byTony Zinni 2003 Succeeded byDavid HaleVice Chair of the 9 11 CommissionIn office November 27 2002 December 11 2002 1 PresidentGeorge W BushPreceded byPosition establishedSucceeded byLee H Hamilton8th Chancellor of the Queen s University BelfastIn office May 5 1999 March 29 2009Preceded byDavid OrrSucceeded byKamalesh SharmaUnited States Special Envoy for Northern IrelandIn office January 3 1995 January 20 2001PresidentBill ClintonPreceded byPosition establishedSucceeded byRichard N HaassSenate Majority LeaderIn office January 3 1989 January 3 1995DeputyAlan CranstonWendell FordPreceded byRobert ByrdSucceeded byBob DoleChair of the Senate Democratic CaucusIn office January 3 1989 January 3 1995Preceded byRobert ByrdSucceeded byTom DaschleDeputy President pro tempore of the United States SenateIn office January 3 1987 January 3 1989PresidentJohn C StennisPreceded byHubert Humphrey 1978 Succeeded byVacantUnited States Senatorfrom MaineIn office May 17 1980 January 3 1995Preceded byEdmund MuskieSucceeded byOlympia SnoweJudge of the United States District Court for the District of MaineIn office October 5 1979 May 16 1980Appointed byJimmy CarterPreceded bySeat establishedSucceeded byConrad K CyrUnited States Attorney for the District of MaineIn office 1977 1979PresidentJimmy CarterPreceded byPeter MillsSucceeded byJames BranniganPersonal detailsBornGeorge John Mitchell Jr 1933 08 20 August 20 1933 age 89 Waterville Maine U S Political partyDemocraticSpouse s Sally Heath m 1961 div 1987 wbr Heather MacLachlan m 1994 wbr Children3EducationBowdoin College BA Georgetown University LLB Military serviceAllegiance United StatesBranch service United States ArmyYears of service1954 1956RankFirst LieutenantUnitCounterintelligence CorpsMitchell was a primary architect of the 1996 Mitchell Principles and the 1998 Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland and was the main investigator in two Mitchell Reports one on the Arab Israeli conflict 2001 and one on the use of performance enhancing drugs in baseball 2007 Mitchell served as chairman of The Walt Disney Company from March 2004 until January 2007 and later as chairman of the international law firm DLA Piper He was the Chancellor of Queen s University in Belfast Northern Ireland from 1999 to 2009 Mitchell also has served as a co chair of the Housing Commission at the Bipartisan Policy Center 3 Contents 1 Early life 1 1 Origins 1 2 Education and military service 2 Political career 2 1 Early legal career 2 2 From judge to senator 2 3 Senate Majority Leader 2 4 Political leanings 3 After the Senate 3 1 Democratic politics 3 2 Education 3 3 Mitchell Report Arab Israeli conflict 3 4 United Nations 3 5 World Justice Project 3 6 Northern Ireland peace process 3 7 Chairman of Disney 3 8 Baseball s steroids investigation 3 9 Special Envoy for Middle East Peace 3 10 San Bruno pipeline explosion 3 11 Consultant and advisor 4 Personal life 5 Epstein scandal 6 Awards and honors 7 Books 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading 10 1 Fiction 11 External linksEarly life EditOrigins Edit Mitchell was born in Waterville Maine His father George John Mitchell Sr born Joseph Kilroy was born in Ireland and adopted by a Lebanese American when he was orphaned 4 5 Mitchell s father was a janitor at Colby College in Waterville where Mitchell was raised Mitchell s mother Mary nee Saad was a textile worker who immigrated to the United States in 1920 from Bkassine Lebanon at the age of eighteen 5 6 Mitchell was raised a Maronite Catholic and in his childhood served as an altar boy at St Joseph s Maronite Church in Maine 7 8 Throughout junior high school and high school he worked as a janitor 9 In the family of five children all three of his brothers were athletes though a talented student as a child he found himself overshadowed by his brothers athletic achievements 9 Education and military service Edit After graduating from high school at the age of sixteen 4 Mitchell attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick Maine where he worked several jobs and played on the basketball team 4 He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1954 intending to attend graduate school and then teach but instead served in the United States Army from 1954 to 1956 rising to First Lieutenant In 1961 Mitchell received his Bachelor of Laws from Georgetown University Law Center by attending its part time program at night He has since received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Bates College Political career EditEarly legal career Edit After having performed well academically at Georgetown Mitchell served as a trial attorney for the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice in Washington from 1960 to 1962 and then as executive assistant to Senator Edmund S Muskie from 1962 to 1965 where he first gained interest in the political world 9 Afterwards Mitchell practiced law with Jensen amp Baird 10 in Portland Maine from 1965 to 1977 and was assistant county attorney for Cumberland County Maine in 1971 From judge to senator Edit Senator George Mitchell In 1974 Mitchell won the Democratic nomination for governor of Maine defeating Joseph E Brennan He lost in the general election to independent candidate James B Longley but was appointed United States Attorney for Maine by President Jimmy Carter in 1977 Mitchell served in that capacity from 1977 to 1979 Mitchell was nominated by President Carter on July 31 1979 to the United States District Court for the District of Maine to a new seat authorized by 92 Stat 1629 He was confirmed by the Senate on October 4 1979 and received his commission on October 5 1979 His service terminated on May 16 1980 due to his resignation Mitchell was appointed to the United States Senate in May 1980 by the governor of Maine Joseph Brennan when Edmund Muskie resigned to become US Secretary of State After serving out the remainder of Muskie s term Mitchell was elected to his first full term in 1982 with approximately 61 percent of the vote against Congressman David Emery and rose quickly in the Senate Democratic leadership He was elected as the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 1984 helping the Democrats regain control of the Senate in 1986 with a net eight new seats and a 55 45 majority in the Senate He served as Deputy President pro tempore in the 100th United States Congress because of the illness of President pro tempore John C Stennis and remains the only senator other than Hubert Humphrey to have held that post The position of Deputy President pro tempore was created specifically to be held by a current Senator who is a former president or former Vice President of the United States Humphrey is a former Vice President of the United States and Mitchell is the only person to have been Deputy President pro tempore who has never held one or both of the two highest offices of the US government In 1988 Mitchell was reelected with 81 percent of the vote the largest margin of victory in a Senate election that year and the largest majority ever for a senator from Maine Mitchell in 2009 Mitchell voted in favor of the bill establishing Martin Luther King Jr Day as a federal holiday and the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 as well as to override President Reagan s veto 11 12 13 Mitchell voted against the nominations of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas to the U S Supreme Court stating explicitly that he believed Thomas nomination constituted a racial quota 14 Senate Majority Leader Edit Mitchell served as Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995 While in this role Mitchell led the movement to reauthorize the Clean Air Act in 1990 and pass the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 Additionally under his leadership the Senate approved the North American Free Trade Agreement and the formation of the World Trade Organization In 1994 he turned down an offer of appointment by President Bill Clinton to the United States Supreme Court 4 to replace the retiring Harry A Blackmun so that he could continue helping with efforts in the Senate to pass significant health care legislation The seat ultimately went to Stephen Breyer Nevertheless Congress was not able to pass any significant health care legislation at the time and Mitchell did not run for reelection in 1994 Political leanings Edit For 1994 Mitchell s last year in the Senate the American Conservative Union gave him a rating of 0 00 on a scale of 0 to 100 with 100 being most conservative 15 For the same year the Americans for Democratic Action gave him a score of 90 on a scale of 0 to 100 with 100 being most liberal 16 After the Senate EditMitchell has served as a director of companies including Walt Disney Company FedEx Xerox Unilever Staples Inc Starwood and the Boston Red Sox baseball team After leaving the Senate Mitchell joined the Washington D C law firm Verner Liipfert Bernhard McPherson and Hand he later became the firm s chairman He was criticized for lobbying on behalf of the firm s Big Tobacco clients 17 18 He is also senior counsel to Preti Flaherty Beliveau Pachios Orlick amp Haley in Portland Maine He is Partner and Chairman of the Global Board of DLA Piper US LLP a global law firm Mitchell served as an Advisor of ZeniMax Media Inc 19 He has also served on the advisory board of The Iris Network a nonprofit blindness rehabilitation agency in Portland 20 In 2007 Mitchell joined fellow former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker Bob Dole and Tom Daschle to found the Bipartisan Policy Center a non profit think tank that works to develop policies suitable for bipartisan support 21 Democratic politics Edit Senate portrait of Majority Leader George Mitchell Mitchell was reportedly among those considered by Al Gore as a running mate for his 2000 presidential run but Gore selected Joe Lieberman 22 Had Mitchell been nominated and had the Democratic ticket won that year he would have been the first Arab American to serve as the Vice President of the United States and only the second Vice President from Maine after Hannibal Hamlin He also was mentioned in both 2000 and in 2004 as a potential Secretary of State for a Democratic administration due to his role as Senate Leader and the Good Friday agreements Education Edit Since 2002 Mitchell has been a Senior Fellow and Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University s Center for International Conflict Resolution where he works to help end or avert conflicts between nations He was the Chancellor of the Queen s University of Belfast Northern Ireland until his resignation in April 2009 and namesake of the George J Mitchell Scholarship which sponsors graduate study for twelve Americans each year in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland He is the founder of the Mitchell Institute in Portland Maine whose mission is to increase the likelihood that young people from every community in Maine will aspire to pursue and achieve a college education 23 In 2007 he became a visiting Professor in Leeds Metropolitan University s School of Applied Global Ethics and the university is developing a new Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution bearing his name 24 Mitchell Report Arab Israeli conflict Edit Main article Mitchell Report Arab Israeli conflict Mitchell led an American fact finding commission initiated under President Bill Clinton in 2000 intended to find solutions for solving the situation between Israel and the Palestinians Mitchell s report published in 2001 stressed the need for Israel to halt the expansion of its settlements in the Palestinian territories and for the Palestinians to prevent violence Interest in the report was renewed when Mitchell was named Special Envoy for Middle East Peace in 2009 25 United Nations Edit Mitchell served as co chairman with Newt Gingrich of the Congressionally mandated Task Force on the United Nations which released its findings and recommendations on June 15 2005 after having been formed that January World Justice Project Edit George J Mitchell serves as an Honorary Co chair for the World Justice Project The World Justice Project works to lead a global multidisciplinary effort to strengthen the Rule of Law for the development of communities of opportunity and equity Northern Ireland peace process Edit The Senator George J Mitchell Institute for Global Peace Security amp Justice established in 2016 at Queen s University Belfast Since 1995 Mitchell has been active in the Northern Ireland peace process having served as the United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland under President Bill Clinton He first led an international body to review options for paramilitary arms decommissioning which produced the Mitchell Principles that regulated access to subsequent all party peace talks Mitchell then co chaired the all party talks leading to the Belfast Agreement signed on Good Friday 1998 known since as the Good Friday Agreement Mitchell s mediation between the parties was crucial to the success of the talks 26 He was succeeded as special envoy by Richard Haass 27 For his leadership in the Northern Ireland peace negotiations Mitchell was awarded the Liberty Medal on July 4 1998 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom on March 17 1999 In accepting the Liberty Medal he stated I believe there s no such thing as a conflict that can t be ended They re created and sustained by human beings They can be ended by human beings No matter how ancient the conflict no matter how hateful no matter how hurtful peace can prevail 28 Chairman of Disney Edit On March 4 2004 Disney s board of directors on which Mitchell had served since 1995 named him Michael Eisner s replacement as Chairman of the Board after 43 of the company s shares were voted against Eisner s reelection 35 was the minimum for disposal Mitchell himself received a 24 negative vote 29 a fact that led dissident Disney shareholders Roy E Disney and Stanley Gold to criticize the appointment of Mitchell whom they saw as Eisner s puppet Having already served on the boards of companies including Xerox Starwood FedEx and Staples Inc Mitchell assumed his new role at a particularly tumultuous time in the company s history needing to face such issues as Comcast s hostile takeover attempts and a possible split with Pixar 29 Mitchell played an important role in the selection of Robert A Iger as Eisner s successor as CEO in 2005 29 On June 28 2006 Disney announced that its board had elected one of its members John Pepper Jr former CEO of Procter amp Gamble to replace Mitchell as chairman effective January 1 2007 30 Baseball s steroids investigation Edit Main article Mitchell Report baseball In 2006 Mitchell was tapped by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig to lead an investigation into the use of performance enhancing drugs by Major League Baseball players The investigation derived largely from charges against Barry Bonds and revelations in the Bay Area Laboratory Co Operative BALCO trials of Victor Conte and Greg Anderson Selig has said that revelations brought forth in the 2005 book Game of Shadows were by way of calling attention to the issue in part responsible for the league s decision to commission an independent investigation To this day Mitchell is known to have held meetings with only two active players Jason Giambi who was ordered to meet Mitchell by Commissioner Selig in light of his public admissions on the issue and one additional player whose name was initially not made public but was later revealed to be Frank Thomas 31 Mitchell did however hold extensive meetings with several known steroid dealers club attendants personal trainers and others who had ties to all players named in the report Even though the union that protects the players had pressured all but Giambi and Thomas into maintaining the culture of silence that had helped the drug problem remain a secret there was plenty of other evidence against those named in his report Mitchell released a 409 page report of his findings on December 13 2007 32 The report includes the names of 89 former and current players for whom it claims evidence of use of steroids or other prohibited substances exists This list includes names of Most Valuable Players and All Stars such as Roger Clemens Andy Pettitte Miguel Tejada Denny Neagle Paul Lo Duca David Justice Barry Bonds Eric Gagne Todd Hundley Randy Velarde and Benito Santiago Mitchell was criticized for having a conflict of interest with the report as he was a director of the Boston Red Sox especially because no prime Red Sox players were named in the report 33 despite the fact that Red Sox stars David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez were later accused of using performance enhancing substances during the 2003 season as reported by The New York Times on July 30 2009 34 Likewise the report was commissioned by Selig and no members of the Milwaukee Brewers whom Selig once owned appeared in the report The Los Angeles Times reported that Mitchell acknowledged that his tight relationship with Major League Baseball left him open to criticism 35 Mitchell responded to the concerns by stating that readers who examined the report closely will not find any evidence of bias of special treatment of the Red Sox 35 Special Envoy for Middle East Peace Edit Mitchell as Special Envoy for Middle East Peace meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Mitchell together with Benjamin Netanyahu Mahmoud Abbas and Hillary Clinton at the start of direct talks on September 2 2010 On January 22 2009 President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appointed Mitchell as the administration s Special Envoy to the Arab Israeli peace process formally known as the Special Envoy for Middle East Peace 36 The appointment was seen as an indication of the new Obama administration s increased focus on the Israeli Palestinian conflict The choice of Mitchell allowed Obama to demonstrate the seriousness and sincerity of his intentions regarding the peace process without forcing him to immediately embark on a specific initiative before conditions were yet ripe An analyst at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars said Mitchell s appointment says to the world I care about this issue be patient with me 36 Abraham Foxman the National Director of the Anti Defamation League has stated that Sen Mitchell is fair He s been meticulously even handed 37 Within the first week of his appointment Mitchell was dispatched to visit Israel the West Bank Egypt Jordan Turkey and Saudi Arabia for peace discussions in light of the 2008 09 Gaza War between Israel and the Gaza Strip in which both sides had recently entered into unilateral ceasefires Mitchell began his meetings in Cairo on January 27 and Obama said his visit was part of the president s campaign promise to listen to both sides of the Israeli Palestinian conflict and negotiate a peace deal However in a continuation of a George W Bush administration policy Mitchell did not plan to talk to Hamas a group Israel and the United States consider a terrorist organization but instead focus on talks with the Palestinian National Authority 38 Mitchell first met with new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February 2009 39 and has met with many notable figures of the Middle East since In 2010 he led the US delegation to the Palestine Investment Conference 40 41 On May 13 2011 George Mitchell tendered his resignation from the post of Special Envoy to the Middle East 42 Obama praised Mitchell stating His deep commitment to resolving conflict and advancing democracy has contributed immeasurably to the goal of two states Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security 43 San Bruno pipeline explosion Edit This section needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information February 2018 Main article 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion In 2012 Mitchell was asked to lead talks towards determining fines involved in the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion 44 Consultant and advisor Edit In June 2014 Mitchell was hired as a senior advisor at the public relations and advisory company Teneo 45 a firm closely connected to the Clintons 46 Like Mitchell who in 1995 45 had been appointed special envoy to Northern Ireland by President Bill Clinton 46 Teneo founder and CEO Declan Kelly had been appointed economic envoy to Northern Ireland in September 2009 by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 46 47 Personal life EditMitchell was married for 26 years until he and his wife Sally divorced in 1987 They are the parents of a daughter Andrea In December 1994 he married Heather MacLachlan 35 a sports management consultant 48 49 They have a son Andrew and daughter Claire named in honor of Claire Bowes nee Gallagher who had so inspired him when she was blinded in the Omagh bombing 50 Mitchell was diagnosed with a small low grade and localized prostate cancer in 2007 51 In August 2020 he was diagnosed with leukemia 52 Epstein scandal EditVirginia Roberts Giuffre a woman who has long claimed that disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein forced her to have sex with powerful men named Mitchell in documents unsealed on August 9 2019 a day before Epstein s death by a Federal court in the Southern District of New York The papers included affidavits and depositions of key witnesses in a 2015 lawsuit that Giuffre filed against Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell 53 Giuffre accused the two individuals of sex trafficking her to high profile individuals including Mitchell in the early 2000s while she was underage 54 55 Mitchell denied ever having met or spoken with Giuffre and stated that he became aware of Epstein s criminal prosecution only through the media 54 On November 30 2021 Epstein s former pilot Larry Visoski named Mitchell as one of the people he recalled flying on one of Epstein s private planes but claimed to have never seen sexual activity nor indication that such activity had taken place 56 57 Awards and honors EditIn 1994 Mitchell received the US Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official an award distributed annually by Jefferson Awards 58 In recognition for his role in the Northern Ireland peace process Mitchell was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Liberty Medal and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998 59 In addition in 1999 Mitchell was invested as an Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire GBE In 2002 he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement 60 61 In 2003 he received the Freedom Medal 62 On January 28 2014 a portrait of Mitchell was unveiled for display at the Maine State Capitol alongside those of other notable Mainers 63 On April 10 2018 Mitchell was awarded Freedom of the City of Belfast alongside former President Bill Clinton in a ceremony at the Ulster Hall 64 Books Edit with Senator William Cohen co author Men of Zeal A Candid Inside Story of the Iran Contra Hearings September 1988 ISBN 978 0670822522 World on Fire Saving an Endangered Earth January 1991 ISBN 978 0684192314 Not For America Alone The Triumph of Democracy and The Fall of Communism May 1997 ISBN 978 1568360836 Making Peace April 1999 1st Edition July 2000 Updated ISBN 978 0434007554 ISBN 978 1501153914 The Negotiator A Memoir May 2015 ISBN 978 1451691399 with Alon Sachar co author A Path to Peace A Brief History of Israeli Palestinian Negotiations and a Way Forward in the Middle East November 2016 ISBN 978 1501153914See also EditBill Clinton Supreme Court candidates List of Arab and Middle Eastern Americans in the United States CongressReferences Edit Barrett Ted Karl Jonathan December 11 2002 Mitchell quits 9 11 probe CNN Archived from the original on September 9 2018 Retrieved March 2 2018 Biographical Directory of the U S Congress Retro Member details Archived from the original on October 17 2020 Retrieved October 20 2020 Bipartisan Policy Center s Housing Commission Archived October 31 2011 at the Wayback Machine a b c d Altman Alex January 22 2009 Middle East Envoy George Mitchell Time Archived from the original on June 30 2012 Retrieved February 19 2009 a b Senator George Mitchell The Maine Mag August 12 2013 Archived from the original on September 8 2018 Retrieved December 2 2020 Diehl Jackson An Old Mission for George Mitchell The Washington Post Archived from the original on November 7 2012 Retrieved May 3 2010 AFP Obama s new Mideast envoy begins regional tour in Egypt January 27 2009 Marantz Steve 1994 The Maine man The Sporting News Archived from the original on November 15 2011 a b c George Mitchell Interview Academy of Achievement Archived from the original on January 24 2010 Retrieved September 22 2009 A History Jensen Baird Gardner amp Henry Archived 2018 09 27 at the Wayback Machine Jensen Baird Gardner amp Henry TO PASS H R 3706 MOTION PASSED SEE NOTE S 19 Archived from the original on May 20 2020 Retrieved May 17 2020 TO PASS S 557 CIVIL RIGHTS RESTORATION ACT A BILL TO RESTORE THE BROAD COVERAGE AND CLARIFY FOUR CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS BY PROVIDING THAT IF ONE PART OF AN INSTITUTION IS FEDERALLY FUNDED THEN THE ENTIRE INSTITUTION MUST NOT DISCRIMINATE Archived from the original on July 28 2020 Retrieved May 17 2020 TO ADOPT OVER THE PRESIDENT S VETO OF S 557 CIVIL RIGHTS RESTORATION ACT A BILL TO RESTORE BROAD COVERAGE OF FOUR CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS BY DECLARING THAT IF ONE PART OF AN INSTITUTION RECEIVES FEDERAL FUNDS THEN THE ENTIRE INSTITUTION MUST NOT DISCRIMINATE TWO THIRDS OF THE SENATE HAVING VOTED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE OVERRODE THE PRESIDENTIAL VETO Archived from the original on August 10 2020 Retrieved May 17 2020 Mitchell Bush Used Quota in Court Pick The Day New London Connecticut July 9 1991 p A3 ACU 1994 Senate Ratings Archived from the original on September 28 2011 Retrieved June 26 2011 Americans for Democratic Action PDF adaction org Archived from the original PDF on December 4 2010 Weisberg Jacob August 10 1997 Liberal Tobacco Whores Slate Magazine Archived from the original on December 10 2008 Retrieved January 22 2009 Dowd Maureen May 17 1998 Liberties Nicotine Stained Halo The New York Times Archived from the original on October 31 2020 Retrieved October 27 2020 ZeniMax Media Outside Advisors Archived from the original on July 20 2007 Retrieved April 30 2019 Advisory Board Archived from the original on December 25 2019 Retrieved May 22 2020 About BPC Bipartisan Policy Center bipartisanpolicy org Archived from the original on May 18 2011 Retrieved May 26 2011 King John July 14 2000 Gore considering naming VP immediately after GOP convention CNN Archived from the original on November 4 2008 Retrieved January 22 2009 Senator George J Mitchell Scholarship Research Institute The Mitchell Institute The Mitchell Institute Archived from the original on March 8 2010 Retrieved September 21 2009 Senator George Mitchell Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution Leeds Metropolitan University 2004 Archived from the original on January 1 2009 Retrieved January 22 2009 Wilson Scott July 14 2012 Obama searches for Middle East peace The Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Archived from the original on July 1 2020 Retrieved July 10 2020 Samantha Power George Mitchell TIME Magazine 5 12 2008 pp 76 cover story Cathy Gormley Heenan Political leadership and the Northern Ireland peace process Role capacity and effect Springer 2006 1998 Recipient George Mitchell Liberty Medal National Constitution Center constitutioncenter org Archived from the original on October 23 2009 Retrieved September 22 2009 a b c Holson Laura M March 10 2004 Former P amp G Chief Named Disney Chairman The New York Times Archived from the original on April 25 2009 Retrieved April 3 2009 Holson Laura M June 29 2006 Market Place Eisner Vote Forces Disney To Catch Up The New York Times Archived from the original on October 31 2018 Retrieved April 3 2009 Curry Jack December 15 2007 One Player Who Spoke With Mitchell Wonders Why So Few Others Did The New York Times Archived from the original on April 25 2009 Retrieved April 3 2009 Year after Mitchell Report MLB tries to move on Yahoo com Archived from the original on December 15 2008 Retrieved January 22 2009 Mitchell report Baseball slow to react to players steroid use ESPN com December 14 2007 Archived from the original on December 16 2007 Retrieved December 18 2007 Schmidt Michael S July 30 2009 Ortiz and Ramirez Said to Be on 03 Doping List The New York Times a b Johnson Greg December 14 2007 Mitchell cites unbiased history Los Angeles Times a b Landler Mark January 21 2009 Seasoned Negotiator to Serve as a Mideast Envoy The New York Times Archived from the original on April 25 2009 Retrieved January 22 2009 Besser James D January 21 2009 Mitchell As Envoy Could Split Center The Jewish Week Archived from the original on November 10 2012 Retrieved March 4 2012 Witte Griff Blast at Gaza Border Kills Israeli Soldier Palestinian Farmer Killed by Gunfire Archived 2017 08 27 at the Wayback Machine The Washington Post January 28 2009 Retrieved January 28 2008 George Mitchell Netanyahu Meet Concerning Peace Efforts Huffington Post February 26 2009 Archived from the original on February 27 2009 Palestinian Development Investment Forum Yields 655 Million BusinessWeek June 5 2010 Archived from the original on June 11 2010 Retrieved June 13 2010 Remarks by Senator George J Mitchell at Palestine Investment Conference Archived 2010 07 14 at the Wayback Machine Consulate General of the United States in Jerusalem June 3 2010 Retrieved September 4 2010 George Mitchell resigns as Middle East envoy CNN May 13 2011 Archived from the original on December 24 2013 Retrieved May 13 2011 Myers Steven May 13 2011 Amid Impasse in Peace Negotiations America s Chief Middle East Envoy Resigns The New York Times Archived from the original on October 15 2014 Retrieved October 9 2014 Former Sen George Mitchell tapped to settle PG amp E fine for San Bruno explosion Mercury News Archived from the original on November 10 2012 a b Staff Writer August 15 2021 George Mitchell Fast Facts CNN Retrieved July 9 2022 a b c Bade Rachael April 16 2016 How a Clinton insider used his ties to build a consulting giant Politico Retrieved July 9 2022 Lorenzetti Laura June 9 2014 Global consulting firm Teneo hires two political powerhouses Fortune Retrieved July 9 2022 The Maine Man CBS Archived 2011 11 15 at the Wayback Machine Answers The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life s Questions Answers com Archived from the original on January 23 2009 Retrieved February 19 2009 Kelly Peter April 15 2016 Mitchell condemns failure of justice for Omagh Ulster Herald Archived from the original on August 6 2020 Retrieved August 12 2019 Quinn T J August 10 2007 Mitchell diagnosed with cancer Mitchell is of Lebanese descent his mother migrated to the United States in 1920 New York Daily News Archived from the original on September 5 2012 Retrieved January 22 2009 Former Maine Sen George Mitchell diagnosed with leukemia Boston com Archived from the original on August 28 2020 Retrieved August 24 2020 Brown Julie K Blaskey Sarah August 10 2019 Huge cache of newly unsealed records detail how Jeffrey Epstein and his madam allegedly lured girls into sexual servitude Sun Sentinel Associated Press some prominent wealthy men are spattered throughout They include Marvin Minsky Jean Luc Brunel Bill Richardson former Sen George Mitchell Tom Pritzker Glenn Dubin Alan Dershowitz and Prince Andrew a b Sherman Gabriel August 9 2019 Powerful Men Disturbing New Details in Unsealed Epstein Documents Vanity Fair Archived from the original on August 10 2019 Retrieved February 25 2020 Virginia Roberts Giuffre May 3 2016 CONFIDENTIAL VIDEOTAPED DEPOSITION OF VIRGINIA GIUFFRE VIRGINIA GIUFFRE vs GHISLAINE MAXWELL Mitchell s name appears on p 194 of the original document which appears on p 51 of the PDF Lauren del Valle and Eric Levenson November 30 2021 Jeffrey Epstein s former pilot testifies Bill Clinton Donald Trump Prince Andrew flew aboard Epstein s private plane CNN Retrieved December 30 2021 Full list of people named on Jeffrey Epstein s Lolita Express Newsweek December 1 2021 Retrieved December 30 2021 National Jefferson Awards Jefferson Awards Archived from the original on November 24 2010 Retrieved August 5 2013 Hoge Warren October 17 1998 2 Ulster Peacemakers Win the Nobel Prize The New York Times Archived from the original on April 17 2019 Retrieved April 17 2019 Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement www achievement org American Academy of Achievement Archived from the original on December 15 2016 Retrieved January 4 2021 2003 Summit Highlights Photo Archived from the original on September 17 2020 Retrieved January 4 2021 Members of the American Academy of Achievement philanthropist and entrepreneur Leonard A Lauder and the former Majority Leader of the U S Senate the Honorable George J Mitchell at the Banquet of the Golden Plate Four Freedoms Award Freedom Medal Mitchell to Maine Legislature It s possible to work together Kennebec Journal January 28 2014 Archived from the original on October 12 2015 Retrieved January 29 2014 Clintion and Mitchell given freedom of Belfast on 20th anniversary of peace deal The Irish Times April 10 2018 Archived from the original on April 10 2019 Retrieved April 10 2019 Further reading EditBosse Michael R George J Mitchell Maine s Environmental Senator Maine Law Review 47 1995 179 online Curran Daniel and James Sebenius The mediator as coalition builder George Mitchell in Northern Ireland International Negotiation 8 1 2003 111 147 online Curran Daniel James K Sebenius and Michael Watkins Two Paths to Peace Contrasting George Mitchell in Northern Ireland with Richard Holbrooke in Bosnia Herzegovina Negotiation Journal 20 4 2004 513 537 online Gormley Heenan Cathy Political leadership and the Northern Ireland peace process Role capacity and effect Springer 2006 Gould Alberta George Mitchell In Search of Peace Farmington Maine Heritage Pub 1996 Mackenzie G Calvin Senator George Mitchell and the Constitution Maine Law Review 47 1995 163 online Mitchell George J Toward Peace in Northern Ireland Fordham International Law Journal 22 1998 1136 a primary sourceFiction Edit McCann Colum Transatlantic Random House New York 2013 Novel External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to George Mitchell Wikimedia Commons has media related to George J Mitchell Special Envoy for Middle East Peace at the US Department of State United States Congress George J Mitchell id M000811 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress George John Mitchell at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center Appearances on C SPAN George J Mitchell on Charlie Rose George J Mitchell at IMDb George J Mitchell collected news and commentary at The Guardian George J Mitchell collected news and commentary at The New York Times Works by or about George J Mitchell in libraries WorldCat catalog Profile George Mitchell at BBC News 13 May 2011 Interview with George J Mitchell by Don Nicoll May 2 2002 summary sheet transcript and audio link at Bates College Digital Library Interview with George Mitchell1 Previously appointed to the office by then Governor Joe Brennan in 1980 following the resignation of Ed Muskie to become Secretary of State US Senate General Election Year Candidate Party Pct Opponent Party Pct1982 George Mitchell inc 1 Democratic 61 David F Emery Republican 39 1988 George Mitchell inc Democratic 81 Jasper Wyman Republican 19 Party political officesPreceded byKenneth M Curtis Democratic nominee for Governor of Maine1974 Succeeded byJoseph E BrennanPreceded byEdmund Muskie Democratic nominee for US Senator from Maine Class 1 1982 1988 Succeeded byThomas AndrewsPreceded byBill ClintonBob GrahamTip O Neill Response to the State of the Union address1986 Served alongside Tom Daschle Bill Gray Chuck Robb Harriett Woods Succeeded byRobert ByrdJim WrightPreceded byRobert Byrd Senate Democratic Leader1989 1995 Succeeded byTom DaschleChair of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee1989 1995 Served alongside Tom Daschle Succeeded byTom DaschleHarry ReidLegal officesNew seat Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maine1979 1980 Succeeded byConrad K CyrU S SenatePreceded byEdmund Muskie US Senator Class 1 from Maine1980 1995 Served alongside William Cohen Succeeded byOlympia SnowePreceded byLloyd Bentsen Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee1985 1987 Succeeded byJohn KerryVacantTitle last held byHubert Humphrey Deputy President pro tempore of the United States Senate1987 1989 VacantPreceded byRobert Byrd Senate Majority Leader1989 1995 Succeeded byBob DoleDiplomatic postsNew office United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland1995 2001 Succeeded byRichard N HaassVacantTitle last held byTony Zinni United States Special Envoy for Middle East Peace2009 2011 Succeeded byDavid HaleAcademic officesPreceded byDavid Orr Chancellor of the Queen s University Belfast1999 2009 Succeeded byKamalesh SharmaBusiness positionsPreceded byMichael Eisner Chair of the Disney Company2004 2007 Succeeded byJohn E Pepper Jr U S order of precedence ceremonial Preceded byPatrick Leahyas Former President pro tempore of the U S Senate Order of precedence of the United Statesas Former US Senate Majority Leader Succeeded byTrent Lottas Former US Senate Majority Leader Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title George J Mitchell amp oldid 1131352693, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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