George J. Mitchell: Difference between revisions
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|successor3 = [[Richard N. Haass|Richard Haass]]
|office4 = [[Party leaders of the United States Senate|Senate Majority Leader]]
|deputy4 = {{unbulleted list | [[Alan Cranston]]
|term_start4 = January 3, 1989
|term_end4 = January 3, 1995
|birth_name = George John Mitchell Jr.
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1933|8|20}}
|birth_place = [[Waterville, Maine|Waterville]], [[Maine]],
|death_date =
|death_place =
|party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|spouse = {{unbulleted list | {{marriage|Sally Heath|1961|1987|end=div}}
|children = 3
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|serviceyears = 1954–1956
|rank = [[First lieutenant|First Lieutenant]]
===Education and military service===
After graduating from high school at the age of sixteen,<ref name="Middle East Envoy George Mitchell"/> Mitchell attended [[Bowdoin College]] in [[Brunswick, Maine]], where he worked several jobs and played on the basketball team.<ref name="Middle East Envoy George Mitchell"/> He graduated 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 [[law degree]] from [[Georgetown University Law Center]] by attending its part-time program at night. He has since received an honorary
==Political career==
In 1974 Mitchell won the Democratic nomination for [[governor of Maine]], defeating [[Joseph E. Brennan|Joseph 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 when he was appointed to the [[United States District Court for the District of Maine]].
Mitchell served as a federal judge until he was appointed to the [[United States Senate]] in May 1980 by the governor of Maine, Joseph Brennan, when [[Edmund Muskie]] resigned to become [[United States Secretary of State|
After serving out the remainder of Muskie's term, Mitchell was elected to his first full term in [[U.S. Senate election, 1982|1982]] with approximately 61% 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.
On January 22, 2009, President [[Barack Obama]] and [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] [[Hillary Clinton]] appointed Mitchell as the administration's [[Diplomatic rank|Special Envoy]] to the Arab-Israeli peace process, formally known as the "Special Envoy for Middle East Peace".<ref name="timesMiddleEast">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/us/politics/22diplo.html?_r=1&hp|title=Seasoned Negotiator to Serve as a Mideast Envoy|last=Landler|first=Mark|date=January 21, 2009|work=The New York Times|accessdate=January 22, 2009}}</ref> The appointment was seen as an indication of the new [[Presidency of Barack Obama|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.'"<ref name="timesMiddleEast"/> [[Abraham Foxman]], the National Director of the [[Anti-Defamation League]], has stated that, "Sen. Mitchell is fair. He's been meticulously even-handed".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thejewishweek.com/features/mitchell_envoy_could_split_center|title=Mitchell As Envoy Could Split Center|last=Besser|first=James D.|date=January 21, 2009|work=The Jewish Week|accessdate=March 4, 2012}}</ref>
Within the first week of his appointment, Mitchell was dispatched to visit [[Israel]], the [[West Bank]], [[Egypt]], [[Jordan]], Turkey, and [[Saudi Arabia]] for [[Peace process in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict|peace discussions]] in light of the [[Gaza War (2008–09)|2008-09 Gaza War]] between Israel and the [[Gaza Strip]], in which both sides had recently entered into [[Unilateralism|unilateral]] [[ceasefire]]s. 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]] [[Presidency of George W. Bush|administration]] policy, Mitchell did not plan to talk to [[Hamas]], a group Israel and the United States consider a [[List of designated terrorist organizations|terrorist organization]], but instead focus on talks with the [[Palestinian National Authority]].<ref name="WP0128">Witte, Griff. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/27/AR2009012700260.html?hpid=topnews "Blast at Gaza Border Kills Israeli Soldier; Palestinian Farmer Killed by Gunfire."] ''[[The Washington Post]]'', January 28, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2008.</ref> Mitchell first met with new [[Israel]]i [[Prime Minister of Israel|Prime Minister]] [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] in February 2009<ref name="Ref_c">{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/26/george-mitchell-netanyahu_n_170115.html|work=Huffington Post|title=George Mitchell, Netanyahu Meet Concerning Peace Efforts|date=February 26, 2009}}</ref> and has met with many notable figures of the Middle East since. In 2010, he led the
On May 13, 2011, George Mitchell tendered his resignation from the post of Special Envoy to the Middle East.<ref name="Ref_f">{{cite news| url=http://us.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/05/13/mitchell.mideast.envoy/index.html?hpt=T1&iref=BN1|agency=CNN|title=George Mitchell resigns as Middle East envoy|date=May 13, 2011}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Myers|first1=Steven|title=Amid Impasse in Peace Negotiations, America's Chief Middle East Envoy Resigns|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/14/world/middleeast/14mitchell.html?_r=0|accessdate=October 9, 2014|work=New York Times|date=May 13, 2011}}</ref>
==Awards and honors==
In 1994, Mitchell received the
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 also nominated for the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in 1998.{{cn|date=February 2018}} In addition, in 1999 Mitchell was invested as an [[List of honorary British knights and dames|Honorary Knight Grand Cross]] of the [[Order of the British Empire]] (GBE). As custom dictates, Mitchell cannot call himself "Sir George" as he is not a citizen of a [[Commonwealth realm]].{{cn|date=February 2018}}
{{wikiquote|George Mitchell}}
{{commons category}}
* [https://www.state.gov/s/middleeastpeace/index.htm Special Envoy for Middle East Peace] at the [[
* {{Biographical Directory of Congress|M000811}}
* {{FJC Bio|1660|nid=1385216|name=George John Mitchell<!--(1933–)-->}}
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