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George John Mitchell

George John Mitchell

Maine District Court

Born 1933 in Waterville, ME

FJC ID: 1660

George John Mitchell Jr. (born August 20, 1933) 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.

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 2004 until 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. He is one of the few people in modern times to have served in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the federal government.

To date, he is the last registered Democrat to represent Maine in the U.S. Senate.

Gender
Male
Race
White

Prior employment

  1. Private practice, Washington, D.C.
    1995–present
  2. President William J. Clinton
    Special advisor · 1995–2000
  3. U.S. senator from Maine
    1980–1995
  4. U.S. attorney for the District of Maine
    1977–1979
  5. Private practice, Portland, Maine
    1965–1977
  6. Cumberland County, Maine
    Assistant county attorney · 1971
  7. U.S. Sen. Edmund Muskie of Maine
    Executive assistant · 1962–1965
  8. Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice
    Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice
    Trial attorney · 1960–1962
  9. U.S. Army lieutenant
    1954–1956

Appointments

  1. Maine District Court
    1979–1980 · Appointed by Jimmy Carter (Democratic)
    Term ended: Resignation

Education

  1. Georgetown College (now Georgetown University) Law Center
    LL.B. · 1960
  2. Bowdoin College
    B.A. · 1954