George Voinovich

George Victor Voinovich ( born January 15, 1936 in Cleveland, Ohio ) is an American politician of the Republican Party. He was from 1991 to 1998 the 65th Governor of Ohio and represented this State from 1999 to 2011 in the U.S. Senate.

Early years and political rise

George Voinovich attended Ohio University, where he studied until 1961 at the Law Faculty of Law. In the years 1963 and 1964 he was Deputy Attorney General of Ohio. From 1967 to 1971 he sat as an MP in the House of Representatives from Ohio. After that, he was from 1971 to 1976 Auditor ( Auditor ) in Cuyahoga County. Subsequently, he worked in 1977 and 1978 as Administrative Officer ( County Commissioner) in this district before he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Ohio. From this office he resigned in 1980, after he was elected mayor of Cleveland. This office he led until 1990, when he was elected as a Republican candidate for the new governor of his state. He was the first governor of a U.S. state with Serbian descent.

Governor of Ohio

George Voinovich took up his new post on 14 January 1991. In 1994, he was confirmed by the voters. During his tenure, he was a member and chairman of several Governor associations. During his reign, the unemployment rate declined from Ohio to its lowest level in 25 years. On the other hand, about 500,000 new jobs were created. At that time, Ohio experienced an economic boom that would continue until 2001. According to the state constitution Voinovich was not allowed to run directly back in 1998. Therefore, he applied for a seat in the Senate of the United States. After the successful election, he stepped back on 31 December 1998 by the Office of the Governor.

U.S. Senator

From January 1999, Voinovich represented his state in the U.S. Senate. In 2004 he was again elected to that office. He advocated for a troop withdrawal from Iraq. On January 3, 2011, he resigned from the Senate after he had given up for reelection. According to a survey of the political magazine National Journal he was the Senate member of his party with the most liberal voting record in 2010. Voinovich was 2003-2007 Chairman of the Ethics Committee. George Voinovich is married to Janet Allan, with whom he has three children.