Steve Cowper
Stephen Cambreleng "Steve" Cowper (born August 21, 1938) is an American Democratic politician who was the sixth Governor of Alaska from 1986-90. He was Governor during the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.
Early life and career
Cowper was born in 1938 to Petersburg, Virginia to Stephanie (née Smith) and Marion Cowper. He was raised in Kinston, North Carolina. He received bachelor's and law degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and after serving in the U.S. Army Medical Corps and Army Reserve, he worked as a maritime lawyer in Norfolk, Virginia for three years. Cowper moved to Fairbanks, Alaska in 1968 and served as assistant district attorney for rural Alaska and Fairbanks.
In 1970, Cowper went to Vietnam and worked as a freelance correspondent throughout Asia. Upon returning to Alaska, he wrote a political column for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, taught a college course on Alaska lands, was a partner in an air taxi and cargo business, and worked as a diver for a University of Alaska marine research team.