Angus King
Angus S. King ( born March 31, 1944 in Alexandria, Virginia ) is a non-partisan American politician. He was from 1995 to 2003 Governor of the State of Maine. 2012 won the ex - Democrat in Maine election as senator. On January 3, 2013, has taken office.
Early years
Angus King graduated in 1966 from Dartmouth College and then studied until 1969 at the University of Virginia law. Between 1972 and 1975 he worked for the U.S. senator William Dodd Hathaway and he was an adviser to a congressional committee that dealt with alcohol and drug problems. From 1975 to 1983 he practiced as a lawyer. After that, he was until 1994 head of a company, the sales of energy saving products.
Governor of Maine
King made himself a name as host of a popular TV show in Maine. Thus he gained a high reputation, which enabled him in 1994 as an independent candidate to run for the office of governor and then to be also selected. In the election he won against the candidate of the Democrats and Republicans. After James B. Longley, who served from 1975 to 1979, King was the second Governor of Maine, who had been elected as an independent candidate in this office. During his tenure, he and Jesse Ventura, Governor of Minnesota, the only U.S. governors who did not belong to one of two major American parties.
Angus King took up his new post on January 5, 1995 and was for a re-election in 1998 until January 8, 2003 remain in office. King made in his tenure that the secondary schools of the state are equipped with laptops for all students and teachers. The project initially met with resistance because of high costs but was then approved by the Legislature and signed into law. Much more controversial was a bill according to which all persons working for or in schools should provide fingerprints at the State Police. Also, they should all be checked by the police on their past. This included even the employees of contractors working for the schools. So that the governor wanted to prevent child abuse by such persons. His opponents stopped in front of him that such a problem does not exist for this group of people. Nationally, 57 teachers resigned in protest against the law. Originally, the parties should bear the costs of the measures. The House of Representatives of Maine changed this part but disputed the effect that the costs were paid by the state.
After the end of his second term King started with his family on a tour of the United States. He visited in the course of six months, 34 of the 50 states. Today, King is committed to a project for utilization of wind energy for electricity generation in Maine. Angus King is married to Mary Herman. The couple has five children.
Senator
On March 5, 2012 King announced his intention for the Senate of the United States to stand and thus, to compete for the seat which is vacant following the resignation of Olympia Snowe as an independent candidate. He sat down in the election successfully against the Republican Charlie Summers and Democrat Cynthia Dill by.