Harris Wofford
United States Senator from Pennsylvania
In office May 9, 1991 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by	John Heinz
Succeeded by	Rick Santorum
Pennsylvania Secretary of Labor and Industry
In office March 23, 1987[1] – May 8, 1991
Governor	Bob Casey
Preceded by	James Knepper
Succeeded by	Tom Foley
Chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party
In office June 28, 1986[2] – December 6, 1986
Preceded by	Edward Mezvinsky
Succeeded by	Larry Yatch[3]
Personal details
Born	Harris Llewellyn Wofford (1926-04-09) April 9, 1926 (age 86) New York City, New York
Political party	Democratic

Harris Llewellyn Wofford (born April 9, 1926) served as a Democratic U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania from 1991 to 1995 and as the fifth president of Bryn Mawr College, and is a noted advocate of national service and volunteering. Wofford was a surrogate for Barack Obama's campaign for president, and introduced Obama in Philadelphia at the National Constitution Center before Obama's speech on race in America, "A More Perfect Union."

Biography[link]

Harris Wofford was born in New York City in 1926. While attending high school,^[4] he was inspired by Clarence Streit's plea for a world government to found the Student Federalists.^[5]

Wofford served in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War.^{[citation needed]} He is a 1948 graduate of the University of Chicago. He enrolled at Howard Law School, the first white student to do so since the early 20th century.^[6] After one year, he transferred to Yale Law School, where he graduated in June 1954.^[7]

He began his public service career as an attorney for the United States Commission on Civil Rights, serving from 1954 to 1958. In 1959, he became a law professor at University of Notre Dame. He was an early supporter of the Civil Rights movement in the south in the late 1950s and became a friend and unofficial advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr..

Kennedy administration[link]

Wofford's political career began in 1960 when he served as an adviser to the presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy. When King was imprisoned shortly before the election, Wofford persuaded Kennedy's brother in law, Sargent Shriver, to race to O'Hare airport to persuade Kennedy to call King's wife, Correta Scott King, who faced the specter of her husband sentenced to hard labor in a gulag-like Georgia prison for a minor traffic violation while she was in an advanced stage of pregnancy. This was done with Ted Sorenson, Teddy Kennedy and Ken O'Donnell out of the room. All of them would have opposed this move because of the opposition from the southern political leaders like arch segregationist Senator James Eastland. JFK's call helped shift the African American vote decisively in Kennedy's favor and may have won him the election.^[8]

In 1961, Kennedy appointed him, in a last minute decision, as a special assistant to the President on civil rights. He also served as chairman of the Subcabinet Group on Civil Rights. He was instrumental in the formation of the Peace Corps and served as the Peace Corps' special representative to Africa and director of operations in Ethiopia. He was appointed associate director of the Peace Corps in 1962 and held that position until 1966. Wofford's book Of Kennedys and Kings: Making Sense of the Sixties details his years in the civil rights movement and the creation of the Peace Corps.

Private practice[link]

In 1966, Wofford left politics to become president of the State University of New York at Old Westbury. At the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, Wofford risked his career by allowing himself to be arrested in protest of police brutality. In 1970, he became president of Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and held that post until 1978.

Pennsylvania political career[link]

After spending seven years in private law practice and one year chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, Wofford was appointed by Pennsylvania Governor Bob Casey as the state's Secretary of Labor and Industry in 1987.

1991 special election victory[link]

On April 4, 1991, Pennsylvania's senior U.S. Senator, John Heinz, died in an aviation accident leaving his seat in the U.S. Senate open. By law, the Pennsylvania governor was required to appoint a replacement until a special election could be held for the seat. After considering several potential candidates, including Allentown, Pennsylvania native Lee Iacocca, who turned down the job, Governor Bob Casey appointed Wofford to the seat on May 9, 1991.

In the special election held in November 1991, Wofford faced Dick Thornburgh, the former Pennsylvania governor and U.S. Attorney General under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. Candidates for this special election were chosen by the party committees because the vacancy had happened too late to set up a primary. Wofford began the campaign so far behind in the polls that most pundits assumed he had no chance of winning. His eventual victory over the former governor by ten percentage points surprised many.^[who?] His campaign was run by Paul Begala and James Carville, and their dramatic success brought them to national attention. The campaign was also a proving ground for many of the themes that would underlie Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential election victory, such as the focus on the economy and health care. Although Clinton ultimately chose Al Gore, Wofford was a finalist for the vice presidential nomination.^[9]

In May 1993, Wofford received an honorary doctorate from Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania.

1994 re-election loss[link]

Wofford narrowly lost his 1994 bid for re-election to Republican Congressman Rick Santorum, 32 years his junior, who defeated Wofford 49%–47%. The election was part of that year's Republican Revolution, in which many Democrats were ousted from both houses of the United States Congress.

National service career[link]

After his time in the Senate, Wofford served as chief executive officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service (the federal agency that runs AmeriCorps and other domestic volunteer programs), from 1995 to 2001. Since his retirement, he has taught at the University of Maryland, College Park and served on the boards of several charities and service organizations including America's Promise, Youth Service America, and the Points of Light Foundation. He is currently a board member of the Center for Citizen Leadership and Malaria No More, a New York-based nonprofit that was launched at the 2006 White House Summit with the goal of ending all deaths caused by malaria. He was the recipient of the John W. Gardner Leadership Award in 2002. He is currently a senior fellow at the Case Foundation in Washington, D.C. Since February 2007, Wofford has been national spokesperson for Experience Wave [1], a national campaign advancing state and federal policies to make it easier for mid-life and older adults to stay engaged in work and community life. [2]

On January 4, 2007, Wofford was present for the swearing-in of Senator Bob Casey, Jr., who defeated Santorum in his bid for a third term.^[10]

References[link]

This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (December 2008)

External links[link]

• Harris Wofford at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Peace Corps biography of Harris Wofford
• Trailer for upcoming documentary on Harris Wofford

v t e United States Senators from Pennsylvania Class 1 W. Maclay Gallatin Ross S. Maclay Leib Roberts Findlay Barnard Dallas McKean Sturgeon Brodhead S. Cameron Wilmot Buckalew J. Scott Wallace Mitchell Quay Knox Oliver Knox Crow Reed Guffey Martin H. Scott Heinz Wofford Santorum Casey Class 3 Morris Bingham Muhlenberg Logan Gregg Lacock Lowrie Marks Wilkins Buchanan S. Cameron Cooper Bigler Cowan S. Cameron J. Cameron Penrose Pepper Vare† Grundy Davis Myers Duff Clark Schweiker Specter Toomey Notes † Never officially seated.

This article contains weasel words: vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information. Such statements should be clarified or removed. (March 2009)

Atiku Abubakar
11th Vice President of Nigeria
In office May 29, 1999 – May 29, 2007
President	Olusegun Obasanjo
Preceded by	Mike Akhigbe
Succeeded by	Goodluck Jonathan
Personal details
Born	(1946-11-25) November 25, 1946 (age 65) Adamawa State, Nigeria
Political party	People's Democratic Party (1998-2006, 2009–present) Action Congress (2006-2009)

Seal of the Vice-President of Nigeria

Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, alias Turakin Adamawa, GCON (born 25 November 1946) was the Vice-President of Nigeria^[1] from 1999 to 2007. He is a Muslim native of Adamawa State, and was an influential member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) until 2006 when he switched affiliation to the Action Congress party. The former Vice President made a controversial return to the PDP in 2009.

Background[link]

Abubakar came up the ranks of the ruling PDP primarily, due to the pivotal role he played in its formation. He was also an ardent opponent of General Sani Abacha, the late dictator. Atiku's source of wealth has caused some curiosity among Nigerians but that also goes for many other wealthy Nigerians. He has said in a new biography yet to be published that he made his money, "through wise investments, hard work and sheer luck of being at the right place at the right time".

Atiku attended Jada Primary School, 1954–1960, Adamawa Provinsional School, Yola, 1961 to 1965, with Advance Level studies in Economics, British Economic History, Government and Hausa Language, School of hygiene Kano, 1966–1967, graduating with Royal Society of Health Diploma, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, 1967, graduating with Diploma in Law, in 1969

Atiku joined the Customs and Excise department in 1969, serving in Seme, Kano, Maiduguri, Kaduna, Ibadan and Lagos. He rose to the rank of Deputy Director (second in command nationwide). Since then, he has attended courses in Leadership Management, Drug Enforcement and Control in Finland, Egypt and United States of America.

Business[link]

Abubakar went into private business after his retirement, with interests in oil Services, agriculture, food and beverages, print media, insurance, pharmaceuticals, and education. His reported philanthropic activities have included building of schools and mosques across the country, sponsorship of local and foreign treatment of citizens with aggravated medical problems, as well as local/oversea scholarships to disadvantaged Nigerian students.

Atiku has a reputation for his philanthropic activities, which include building hundreds of schools and mosques all over the country; sponsorship of local and foreign treatment of prominent and ordinary citizens with medical problems beyond their means; awarding local and overseas scholarships to hundreds of Nigerians; as well as employing thousands of Nigerians through his businesses.

Vice Presidency[link]

Since becoming Vice President in 1999, he has presided over the National Council on Privatization during which hundreds of loss-making and poorly managed public enterprises were sold off in a manner that has prompted more question than answers. There have been wild allegations that Atiku engaged in unwholesome practices during the privatization of some of those previously State-owned parastatals. President Obasanjo's son, Gbenga, alluded to this allegation in an interview with an internet-based journal, Elendu Reports, where he insinuated that Atiku "sold Pentascope to himself".^[2] These allegations yet again remain unproven, though many political analysts see him, rather sympathetically, as a man who is more prone to cook-ups than conspiracy.

The role played by Atiku in a 'state of emergency' invoked on Plateau State also gives credence to his support for fairness to people of other faiths.

In 2006, Atiku was involved in a face-off with his direct superior, President Olusegun Obasanjo, due to the latter's eventual failed attempts to amend certain provisions of the constitution in order to take another shot at the presidency (for the third consecutive time). It is unclear whether Atiku's opposition to President Obasanjo's inordinate ambition was altruistic or selfish. Nonetheless, Atiku had never hidden his interest in the coveted post. The debate and acrimony generate by the failed constitutional amendment momentarily caused a rift in the People's Democratic Party.^[3] It also appears to have irreparably damaged both men's political and personal relationship, of which, Mr Abubakar, from all indications, is feeling the brunt of it. Despite the furor, the Nigerian National Assembly eventually voted against any amendments allowing Obasanjo to run for another term.

American University of Nigeria[link]

American University of Nigeria (AUN) is the first American university to be established in South Saharan Africa. Originally ABTI American University of Nigeria(AAUN), AUN opened its doors to its first students in 2005. It was founded by the former vice president of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, it is located in north-eastern Nigeria in Yola, the state capital of Adamawa state, the vice president’s home town. Having benefited from the U.S. system of instruction as a young man, Abubakar sought to make this style of education — emphasizing critical thinking, small classes, student participation, problem-solving, a US-style general education program, and an American-trained faculty — available to all qualified young people of Nigeria and, increasingly, to the rest of the world.

While celebrating its 50 years anniversary, the National Peace Corps Association in the United States honored Atiku. In the presentation of award, the Peace Corps described Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as one individual who contributed to the development of higher education on the continent of Africa. “No private businessman in Africa has worked harder for democracy or contributed more to the progress of higher education than Atiku Abubakar,” the Peace Corps said.

Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is also a recipient of the Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award.

Personal life[link]

Family[link]

In 1969 Atiku would meet his first wife, then 19 year old Titilayo Albert at Idi Iroko border post, where he was posted after joining the Department of Customs and Excise. They married in 1971. On 26 October 1972, Titi gave birth to her first child, named Fatima. On 11 April 1974, she gave birth to their first son and second child, named Adamu and Aminu. On 27 January 1979, Atiku took a second wife, Ladi, in Kano, to which he had come after stints at Lagos airport and seaport and Ibadan. Saadatu Ladi Yakubu was the daughter of a Police Officer from Gombe, then attending advance teachers college, Gumel. "I wanted to expand the Abubakar family. I felt extremely lonely as a child. I had no brother and no sister. I did not want my children to be as lonely as I was. This is why I married more than one wife. My wives are my brothers, my sisters, my friends, and my advisers and they complement one another." Together they have six kids: Abba, Atiku, Zainab, Ummi-Hauwa, Mary am and Rukayatu. They separated later (creating a vacancy for Atiku to marry a fourth wife, the maximum allowed a Muslim). Atiku was offered the title of the Turaki of Adamawa by Adamawa's traditional king, Alhaji Aliyu Mustafa, in 1979. The title had previously been reserved for the favourite prince in the palace, as the holder is in charge of the monarch's domestic affairs. Atiku then married his third wife, Fatima, she is from Maiduguri. She bore Bilkisu, Meena, Shehu, Ahmed, Mohammed, Atiku Jr., Hafsat, Aisha, and Zainab for her husband. Fatima studied to be a lawyer in law school. He also got married to the daughter of the king, or Lamido, himself. The formal turbanning and investiture to his chiefly office took place on the 19th of November, 1982, in a lavish ceremony in Yola. It was followed by marriage to Princess Ruqayyat, although the formal solemnization was to wait till 1993 when she finished school and set up home in her father's kingdom. She would later take a degree from the University of Maiduguri, and bear Aisha, Hadiza, Aliyu, Asmau, Mustapha, Laila and Abdulsalaam for her husband.

Presidential run[link]

On 25 November 2006 Abubakar announced that he would run for President; he did not announce immediately which party he would represent, although he inaugurated a presidential campaign committee.^[4]

On 20 December 2006, he was chosen as the presidential candidate of the Action Congress (AC).^[5]

On 15 March 2007, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released the final list of 24 aspirants for the 21 April presidential election. Abubakar's name was conspicuously missing even though he is seen by many as the only 'credible' opposition candidate to the powerful ruling PDP party in the election.

In a statement released by INEC, it states that Abubakar's name was missing because he is on a list of officials indicted for corruption by a panel set up by the ruling government. The creation of this list is seen by many as a tool to weed out opponents of the PDP who may have a strong showing in the forthcoming polls. This school of thought is supported because officials like Andy Uba, a former presidential adviser to Obasanjo, is being allowed to contest in the polls despite a history of well publisised fraudulent activities, i.e. fake educational certificates and money laundering charges in the USA. INEC disqualified Abubakar even though there is a court judgement which states that INEC doesn't have the power to disqualify candidates. INEC appealed this court decision and this move cast doubts on the neutrality of INEC as an umpire in the 2007 elections.

Abubakar headed to the courts on 16 March to get his disqualification overturned despite a statement from the INEC chairman which says it will be impossible for him to contest even if he gets a judgement in his favour as it will be logistically impossible to reprint ballot papers and distribute them round the country before the April polls.

According to reports on 26 March on a Nigerian newspaper run website, Professor Iwu, the chairman of INEC may be prepared to adhere to a court ruling in the case of Abubakar but with the caveat that it has to be a ruling by the supreme court. His words “Yes, he (Abubakar) will run if the Supreme Court says so. This is where the logistics issue actually comes in. We must have our own fallback preparation. I am not the type that makes plan without having plan A, B, and C. If the Supreme Court decides that, we will obey the Supreme Court.” [1]

The Supreme Court unanimously ruled on 16 April that INEC has no power to disqualify candidates. The ruling allowed Abubakar to contest the election, although there were concerns that it might not be possible to provide ballots with Abubakar's name by 21 April, the date of the election.^[6] On 17 April, a spokesman for INEC said that Abubakar would be on the ballot.^[7]

According to official results, Abubakar took third place, behind PDP candidate Umaru Yar'Adua and ANPP candidate Muhammadu Buhari, with about 7% of the vote (about 2.6 million votes).^[8] He rejected the election and said that it should be cancelled and held again, describing it as Nigeria's "worst election ever".^[9]

He said that he would not attend Yar'Adua's inauguration on 29 May due to his view that the election was not credible, saying that he did not want to "dignify such a hollow ritual with my presence".^[10]

Atiku returned to the People's Democratic Party, a party he was a founding member. Since his return, the former Vice President has declared his intention to run for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. On 22 November, the Ciroma Committee selected Atiku as the Northern Consensus Candidate over former Military President Ibrahim Babangida, former National Security Adviser Aliyu Gusau and Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara State.

Atiku contested for the Presidential ticket of his party alongside President Jonathan and Sarah Jubril. He was defeated by Jonathan in what many described as "strategically rigged" primaries.

References[link]

1. ^ Obasanjo Sacks Atiku Sunday Independent, 24 December 2006
2. ^ Atiku's Mansion and the War on Corruption Elendu Reports, 17 August 2005
3. ^ Nigeria's ruling party in split BBC News, 10 June 2006
4. ^ "Nigeria VP to run for president", BBC News, November 25, 2006.
5. ^ "Nigerian president withdraws VP's jet in feud", Reuters (IOL), December 21, 2006.
6. ^ "Supreme Court ruling casts a shadow over Nigerian elections", African Press Agency, April 16, 2007.
7. ^ "Abubakar to run for Nigerian Presidency", AFP (IOL), April 17, 2007.
8. ^ "Huge win for Nigeria's Yar'Adua", BBC News, April 23, 2007.
9. ^ "Yar'Adua wins Nigeria elections", Al Jazeera, April 23, 2007.
10. ^ "Why I won’t attend Yar’Adua’s inauguration - Atiku", Nigerian Tribune, May 28, 2007.

External links[link]

v t e Vice Presidents of Nigeria Babafemi Ogundipe† Joseph Edet Akinwale Wey† Olusegun Obasanjo† Shehu Musa Yar'Adua† Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme Tunde Idiagbon† Ebitu Ukiwe† Augustus Aikhomu† Oladipo Diya† Mike Akhigbe† Atiku Abubakar Goodluck Jonathan Namadi Sambo † military

v t e Candidates in the 2007 Nigerian presidential election Umaru Yar'Adua Muhammadu Buhari Atiku Abubakar Orji Uzor Kalu Attahiru Bafarawa Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Pere Ajuwa Chris Okotie Patrick Utomi Ambrose Owuru Emmanuel Okereke Lawrence Adedoyin Habu Fari Maxi Okwu Bartholomew Nnaji Emmanuel Obayuwana Olapade Agoro Mojisola Obasanjo

Karl Dean
68th Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee
Incumbent
Assumed office September 21, 2007
Preceded by	Bill Purcell
Personal details
Born	(1955-09-20) September 20, 1955 (age 56) Sioux Falls, South Dakota, U.S.A. (but raised in Gardner, Massachusetts)
Political party	Democrat[citation needed]
Spouse(s)	Anne Davis
Children	Rascoe, Frances, and Wallen
Alma mater	Columbia University Vanderbilt University Law School
Profession	Lawyer
Website	http://www.karldean.com

Karl Foster Dean (born September 20, 1955) is the sixth mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee. He was sworn in on September 21, 2007.^[1] From 1999 to January 9, 2007, Karl Dean served as Nashville's Director of Law under Mayor Bill Purcell.^[2] In 1990, 1994, and 1998, he was elected the city's public defender.^[3] Karl Dean is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Vanderbilt University Law School. He graduated with a bachelor of arts degree from Columbia University in 1978 and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University in 1981.^[4][5]

Legal opinions as Metro Law Director[link]

In March 2005, Karl Dean wrote that Mayor Bill Purcell could seek a third term, despite a 1994 referendum on "any elected office authorized or created by the [Metro] charter." This was because the 1963 charter states that there is a three-term limit for mayors, the 1994 amendment took place against a backdrop of a push for congressional term limits, and local public discussion focused on the Metro Council.^[6] In January 2003, he said a proposed law to ban job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was not unconstitutional.^[7]

When Metro Council members' health-care benefits came under scrutiny in September 2004, because the Metro Charter does not allow pension benefits for Council members, Karl Dean said that a health-care benefit wouldn't legally fall under a pension benefit, and therefore wouldn't be against the Charter.^[8]

When asked if an amendment to the Metropolitan Charter requiring raises in the maximum property tax rates approved by the Metro Council to also be approved by Metro voters, Karl Dean said that a court was likely to find that provision of the Metro Charter invalid. This is because, he said, the Tennessee General Assembly has not authorized the charter of a consolidated government to restrict the authority of a legislative body to levy an ad velorem tax on property.^[9]

Mayor of Nashville[link]

Karl Dean announced his mayoral candidacy on December 19, 2006.^[3] In the general election on August 2, 2007, he placed first with 24.6% of the vote. This advanced him to a run-off election against Bob Clement.^[10] On September 11, 2007 Dean won the run-off election with 52.2% of the vote.

Personal[link]

Dean is married to Anne Davis, who is one of the four heirs of the Joe Davis and Rascoe Davis coal fortunes and a proprietor of the Joe Davis Family Foundation in Nashville. He is Catholic. Dean also has 3 children, Rascoe, Frances, and Wallen.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Karl Dean

v t e Mayors of cities with populations exceeding 100,000 in Tennessee     A C Wharton (Memphis) Karl Dean (Nashville) Madeline Rogero (Knoxville) Ron Littlefield (Chattanooga) Kim McMillan (Clarksville) Tommy Bragg (Murfreesboro) Other states AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY