Don Nickles
| Don Nickles | |
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United States Senator from Oklahoma |
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In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Henry Bellmon |
| Succeeded by | Tom Coburn |
| Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget | |
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In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Kent Conrad |
| Succeeded by | Judd Gregg |
| Senate Minority Whip | |
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In office June 6, 2001 – January 3, 2003 |
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| Leader | Trent Lott |
| Preceded by | Harry Reid |
| Succeeded by | Harry Reid |
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In office January 3, 2001 – January 20, 2001 |
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| Leader | Trent Lott |
| Preceded by | Harry Reid |
| Succeeded by | Harry Reid |
| Senate Majority Whip | |
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In office January 20, 2001 – June 6, 2001 |
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| Leader | Trent Lott |
| Preceded by | Harry Reid |
| Succeeded by | Harry Reid |
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In office June 12, 1996 – January 3, 2001 |
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| Leader | Trent Lott |
| Preceded by | Trent Lott |
| Succeeded by | Harry Reid |
| Member of the Oklahoma Senate from Ponca City | |
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In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1981 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Donald Lee Nickles December 6, 1948 Ponca City, Oklahoma |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Linda Lou Morrison Nickles |
| Children | Four children |
| Alma mater | Oklahoma State University |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Donald Lee "Don" Nickles (born December 6, 1948) is an American politician who was a Republican United States Senator from Oklahoma from 1981 until 2005. He was considered both a fiscal and a social conservative. After retiring from the Senate as the longest serving senator from Oklahoma, he founded The Nickles Group, a lobbying firm.
Nickles was born and raised in Ponca City, Oklahoma, where he attended public schools. To help pay for their education at Oklahoma State University, he and his wife, the former Linda Lou Morrison, operated Don Nickles Professional Cleaning Service in Stillwater. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity at Oklahoma State University, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in business administration in 1971.
After college, he went to work for Nickles Machine Corporation in Ponca City, a business started in 1918 by his grandfather, Clair Nickles. He became the company's vice president and general manager. He also served in the Oklahoma National Guard from 1970 until 1976.
A formative experience was the distress his family suffered following his father's death in 1961, when Nickles was thirteen. They had to sell off part of the family business to raise cash to pay the required estate tax. Nickles never expected to make a career out of public office. Instead, he intended to be a small business leader. While working toward his degree at OSU, he began a janitorial service company to help pay his way through college. In 1972, he completed his bachelor's degree in business administration and returned to Ponca City to work for Nickles Machine Corporation where he later became vice president and general manager. In 1978, his election to the Oklahoma State Senate was the beginning of what would become his lifelong passion for serving people. At the age of 31, he became the youngest Republican ever elected to the U.S. Senate.
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