Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
In office January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1971
Preceded by
Sumner Z. Kaplan
Succeeded by
Jon Rotenberg
Constituency
10th Norfolk (1963–1965) 13th Norfolk (1965–1971)
Personal details
Born
Michael Stanley Dukakis
(1933-11-03) November 3, 1933 (age 90) Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political party
Democratic
Spouse
Katharine Dickson
(m. 1963)
Children
4, including John
Relatives
Olympia Dukakis (cousin)
Education
Swarthmore College (BA) Harvard University (JD)
Awards
Grand Commander of the Order of Honor[1]
Signature
Military service
Branch/service
United States Army
Years of service
1955–1957
Rank
Specialist
Unit
8020th Administrative Unit[2]
Battles/wars
Korean War
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Michael Stanley Dukakis (/dʊˈkɑːkɪs/duu-KAH-kiss; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history and only the second Greek-American governor in U.S. history, after Spiro Agnew. He was nominated by the Democratic Party for president in the 1988 election, losing to the Republican nominee, Vice President George H. W. Bush.
Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, to Greek immigrants, Dukakis attended Swarthmore College before enlisting in the United States Army. After graduating from Harvard Law School, he won election to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, serving from 1963 to 1971. He won the 1974 Massachusetts gubernatorial election but lost his 1978 bid for re-nomination to Edward J. King. He defeated King in the 1982 gubernatorial primary and served as governor from 1983 to 1991, presiding over a period of economic growth known as the "Massachusetts Miracle".
Building on his popularity as governor, Dukakis sought the Democratic presidential nomination for the 1988 presidential election. He prevailed in the Democratic primaries and was formally nominated at the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Dukakis chose Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas as his running mate, while the Republicans nominated a ticket of George H. W. Bush and Senator Dan Quayle. Dukakis made history as the first person with ancestry from outside Western or Northern Europe nominated for president by a major party and was the only one until President Obama's nomination in 2008. He was the first Greek Orthodox presidential nominee for a major political party.[3] Although he lost the election, carrying only ten states and Washington, D.C., he improved on the Democratic performances in the previous two elections. After the election, Dukakis announced that he would not seek another term as governor, and he left office in 1991.
Since leaving office, Dukakis has served on the board of directors for Amtrak and taught political science at Northeastern University and UCLA. He was mentioned as a potential appointee to the Senate in 2009 to fill the vacancy caused by Ted Kennedy's death, but Governor Deval Patrick chose Paul G. Kirk. In 2012, Dukakis backed the successful Senate campaign of Elizabeth Warren, whom he also supported in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. Since the death of Bob Dole on December 5, 2021, Dukakis is the oldest living losing major party presidential candidate.
^Kokkinidis, Tasos (October 26, 2020). "Greece Honors Former Presidential Candidate Michael Dukakis". Greek Reporter. Archived from the original on July 31, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
^Shanker, Thom; A member of the Tribune's Washington bureau (October 9, 1988). "While Seeking Higher Rank, Dukakis Keeps Military Brass at Parade Rest". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^Sessions Stepp, Laura (November 3, 1988). "NOMINEES' UPBRINGING AND THEIR FAITH: DUKAKIS TAKES SOME STEPS AWAY FROM STRICT ORTHODOX BELIEFS". The Washington Post.
Michael Stanley Dukakis (/dʊˈkɑːkɪs/ duu-KAH-kiss; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts...
"Kitty" Dukakis (née Dickson; born December 26, 1936) is an American author. She is married to former Massachusetts governor MichaelDukakis. Dukakis was...
The 1988 presidential campaign of MichaelDukakis began when he announced his candidacy for the Democratic Party's nomination for President of the United...
Dukakis and stepson of MichaelDukakis Kitty Dukakis (Katharine D. Dukakis), author, wife of MichaelDukakisMichaelDukakis, former Massachusetts governor...
President George H. W. Bush defeated the Democratic Massachusetts Governor MichaelDukakis. It remains the most recent election in which a candidate won over...
Olympia Dukakis (June 20, 1931 – May 1, 2021) was an American actress. She performed in more than 130 stage productions, more than 60 films and in 50...
Kitty Dukakis and John Chaffetz, a businessman, and the adoptive son of former Massachusetts Governor and 1988 Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis...
the 1988 United States presidential election. Massachusetts governor MichaelDukakis was selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and...
the Republican nominee George H. W. Bush and the Democratic nominee MichaelDukakis met the criteria for inclusion in the debates, and thus were the only...
his campaign against Massachusetts governor and Democratic nominee MichaelDukakis. He was commonly referred to as "Willie" Horton, despite never having...
and the Democratic Party nominee for vice president in 1988 on the MichaelDukakis ticket. He also served as the 69th United States Secretary of the Treasury...
Massachusetts Governor MichaelDukakis who was running against incumbent United States Vice President George H. W. Bush of Texas. Dukakis ran with Texas Senator...
George H. W. Bush defeated Democratic Governor of Massachusetts MichaelDukakis. Despite Dukakis' defeat, the Democratic Party built on their majorities in...
endured electroshock. Kitty Dukakis, wife of former Massachusetts governor and 1988 Democratic presidential nominee MichaelDukakis and author of Shock, a...
serve. The longest-serving Massachusetts governor is MichaelDukakis, who served 12 years; Dukakis was in office from 1975 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1991...
War with Iraq, serving as a DNC delegate for presidential candidate MichaelDukakis, presiding as President over the Southern California chapter of the...
2010, at age 91.[citation needed] At the memorial service, Governor MichaelDukakis said of Harry: "He was smart. He had a strong sense of values that...
George H. W. Bush, over the Democratic nominee, Massachusetts governor MichaelDukakis. Bush won Pennsylvania by a narrow margin of 2.31%, which made it about...
of the polls nationally, and second behind Massachusetts Governor MichaelDukakis in New Hampshire, but was soon confronted with more negative stories...
Ferraro, his protégée. Mondale might have named Massachusetts Governor MichaelDukakis as his running mate had he wanted to make a "safe" choice", while others...
1977—the 50th anniversary of the executions—Massachusetts Governor MichaelDukakis issued a proclamation that Sacco and Vanzetti had been unfairly tried...
renomination, Bentsen was chosen by Democratic presidential nominee MichaelDukakis as his vice-presidential running mate and therefore ran for both the...
Thespian, Tonto, Mephistopheles, David Crosby, Harvey Fierstein, and MichaelDukakis. In a 1986 SNL episode, he portrayed a virgin Trekkie, who was scripted...
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