3rd Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives
In office January 25, 1965 – January 22, 1967
Preceded by
Bruce Kendall
Succeeded by
Bill Boardman
Member of the Alaska House of Representatives from the 8th district
In office January 23, 1963 – January 22, 1967
Preceded by
John S. Hellenthal
Succeeded by
Michael F. Beirne
Personal details
Born
Maurice Robert Gravel
(1930-05-13)May 13, 1930 Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died
June 26, 2021(2021-06-26) (aged 91) Seaside, California, U.S.
Resting place
Arlington National Cemetery
Political party
Democratic (before 2008, 2010–2021)
Other political affiliations
Libertarian (2008–2010)
Spouses
Rita Martin
(m. 1959; div. 1981)
Whitney Stewart
(m. 1984)
Children
2
Education
Columbia University (BS)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance
United States
Branch/service
United States Army
Years of service
1951–1954
Rank
First Lieutenant
Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel (/ɡrəˈvɛl/grə-VELL; May 13, 1930 – June 26, 2021) was an American politician and writer who represented Alaska in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1981 as a member of the Democratic Party. He ran for president twice (U.S. presidential nominations).
Born and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts, by French-Canadian immigrant parents, Gravel moved to Alaska in the late 1950s, becoming a real estate developer and entering politics. He served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1963 to 1967, and also became Speaker of the Alaska House. Gravel was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1968.
As a senator, Gravel became nationally known for his forceful, but unsuccessful, attempts to end the draft during the War in Vietnam, and for putting the Pentagon Papers into the public record in 1971. He conducted an unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic nomination in 1972 for Vice President of the United States, and then played a crucial role in obtaining Congressional approval for the Trans-Alaska pipeline in 1973. He was re-elected to the Senate in 1974, but was defeated in his bid for a third term in the primary election in 1980.
An advocate of direct democracy and the National Initiative, Gravel staged a run for the 2008 Democratic nomination for President of the United States. His campaign failed to gain support, and in March 2008, he left the Democratic Party and joined the Libertarian Party to compete unsuccessfully for its presidential nomination and the inclusion of the National Initiative into the Libertarian Platform. He ran for president as a Democrat again in the 2020 election, in a campaign that ended four months after it began. Two years before his death, Gravel and his campaign staff founded the progressive think tank The Gravel Institute.
Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel (/ɡrəˈvɛl/ grə-VELL; May 13, 1930 – June 26, 2021) was an American politician and writer who represented Alaska in the United...
for a national initiative was proposed in the early 2000s by the late MikeGravel, a former U.S. Senator, and the Democracy Foundation, a non-profit non-governmental...
think tanks in general, particularly PragerU. The Gravel Institute was named for its founder MikeGravel, a former United States senator from Alaska and...
Gravel (/ˈɡrævəl/) is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentary and erosive geological processes;...
organizing and managing the MikeGravel 2020 presidential campaign as a high school senior. In 2020, Oks helped found the Gravel Institute, a progressive...
MikeGravel unsuccessfully ran for president twice: MikeGravel 2008 presidential campaign MikeGravel 2020 presidential campaign This disambiguation page...
under the doctrine of parliamentary immunity. On June 15, 1971, Senator MikeGravel (D-Alaska) received a copy of the Pentagon Papers from Ben Bagdikian...
States presidential election, 2008 MikeGravel with 1%, Other with 1% MikeGravel with 3%, Other with 1% MikeGravel with 2%, Other with 2% RealClearPolitics...
The 2020 presidential campaign of MikeGravel, former U.S. senator from Alaska, began on March 19, 2019 with the formation of an exploratory committee...
The 2008 presidential campaign of MikeGravel, former Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives and United States Senator from Alaska, began on April...
original on March 24, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019. "MikeGravel 2020 Campaign AMA – Gravel Teens Tell All". reddit. Archived from the original on May...
Commission Chair (2008–2009) List of Tulsi Gabbard endorsements U.S. Senators MikeGravel, former U.S. Senator from Alaska (1969–1981); Democratic candidate for...
in the summer of 1972. Ray also admitted having sex with married Sen. MikeGravel (D-Alaska) at his houseboat in August 1972. According to Ray, the meeting...
possibility of public debate about the papers' content, on June 29, US Senator MikeGravel, an Alaska Democrat, entered 4,100 pages of the papers into the record...
Mike). Greg and Mike are similar enough in appearance that Greg once successfully acted as a decoy to lure the press away from his brother when Mike Pence...
voting. Mike Jingozian and Christine Smith were both eliminated due to their small percentage of votes. Jingozian endorsed former Senator MikeGravel, and...
Tonkin Resolution which allowed the bombing of North Vietnam. In 1968, MikeGravel defeated Gruening in the Democratic Senate primary, and Gruening's attempt...
John Edwards Electoral history of Bill Richardson Electoral history of MikeGravel Electoral history of Christopher Dodd Electoral history of Paul Ryan...
'MikeGravel.'" Gravel argued that Stevens was selling out, and, in rebuttal, Stevens told the press that Gravel had broken his word, adding "Gravel is...
Alaska House of Representatives, MikeGravel. Gruening and his supporters launched a write-in campaign against Gravel and the Republican nominee, former...
Democrat Jim Folsom, Public Service Commissioner. Incumbent Democrat MikeGravel ran for a third term, but lost in the Democratic primary to Clark Gruening...
Electoral history of MikeGravel, Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives (1965–1966), United States Senator from Alaska (1969–1981), candidate...
held on November 4, 1980. Incumbent Democratic United States Senator MikeGravel ran for a third term in the United States Senate, but lost in the Democratic...
the U.S. Attorney's office in Boston. On June 29, 1971, U.S. Senator MikeGravel of Alaska entered 4,100 pages of the Papers into the record of his Subcommittee...
of the candidates to be featured in a video, including former Senator MikeGravel. In October 2007, Barely Political was bought by Next New Networks for...
Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives, MikeGravel, who ran on a campaign of youth. Gravel upset Gruening in the Democratic primary with just...
Edwards. Other candidates included Dennis Kucinich, who withdrew, and MikeGravel, before he defected to the Libertarian Party. Tom Vilsack, one of the...
Global Information
United States
United States Army
First Lieutenant