George Voinovich | |
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Chair of the Senate Ethics Committee | |
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007 |
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Preceded by | Harry Reid |
Succeeded by | Barbara Boxer |
United States Senator from Ohio |
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In office January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2011 |
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Preceded by | John Glenn |
Succeeded by | Rob Portman |
Chair of the National Governors Association | |
In office July 30, 1997 – August 4, 1998 |
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Preceded by | Bob Miller |
Succeeded by | Tom Carper |
65th Governor of Ohio | |
In office January 14, 1991 – December 31, 1998 |
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Lieutenant |
Mike DeWine Nancy Hollister |
Preceded by | Dick Celeste |
Succeeded by | Nancy Hollister |
Mayor of Cleveland | |
In office 1980–1989 |
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Preceded by | Dennis Kucinich |
Succeeded by | Michael White |
Lieutenant Governor of Ohio | |
In office January 8, 1979 – November 1979 |
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Governor | Jim Rhodes |
Preceded by | Dick Celeste |
Succeeded by | Myrl Shoemaker |
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 53rd district |
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In office January 3, 1967 – December 15, 1971 |
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Preceded by | Constituency established |
Succeeded by | Edward Ryder |
Personal details | |
Born |
George Victor Voinovich July 15, 1936 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
Died | June 12, 2016 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
(aged 79)
Resting place | All Souls Cemetery Chardon, Ohio, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Janet Allan |
Children | 4 |
Alma mater |
Ohio University Ohio State University |
Religion | Serbian Ortodox Church |
George Victor Voinovich (July 15, 1936 – June 12, 2016) was an American politician from the state of Ohio and born in Cleveland. Voinovich, a member of the Republican Party, served as a United States Senator from 1999 to 2011, as the 65th Governor of Ohio from 1991 to 1998 and as the 54th Mayor of Cleveland from 1980 to 1989, becoming the last Republican to serve in that office.
Voinovich spent more than 46 years in public service – first as assistant attorney general of Ohio in 1963, and finally as the senior United States Senator representing Ohio. He is the 15th person to have served both as the governor of Ohio and as a U.S. senator and one of only two people to have been the mayor of Cleveland, governor of Ohio and a United States Senator; the other was Frank Lausche, who like Voinovich was of Slovenian descent. He is the only person to have served as both chairman of the National Governors Association and president of the National League of Cities.
In his 2004 re-election to the U.S. Senate, Voinovich garnered more than 3.4 million votes, nearly 64 percent.
Voinovich was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Josephine (Bernot) and George S. Voinovich. He was the oldest of six children. His father was of Serbian descent (from Kordun), and his mother was of Slovenian ancestry.
Voinovich grew up in the Collinwood neighborhood of Cleveland and graduated from Collinwood High School in 1954. Voinovich was raised Catholic and was a lifelong member of his neighborhood parish, Our Lady of the Lake in Collinwood (formerly Holy Cross). He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in government from Ohio University in 1958 where he served as President of the Student Body and the Men's Dormitory System. Voinovich received a law degree in 1961 from the Moritz College of Law at the Ohio State University. He was also a part of the fraternity Phi Kappa Tau at Ohio University.