Bob Graham: Difference between revisions

|spouse = {{marriage|[[Adele Khoury Graham|Adele Khoury]]|1959}}

|children = 4, including [[Gwen Graham|Gwen]]

|signature = Bobgrahamsign.png

}}

Graham co-chaired the [[National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling|National Commission on the BP ''Deepwater Horizon'' Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling]] and as a member of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission and the CIA External Advisory Board. He worked at the [[Bob Graham Center for Public Service]] at his undergraduate alma mater, the [[University of Florida]]. He also served as Chairman of the [[Graham/Talent WMD Commission|Commission on the Prevention of WMD proliferation and terrorism]]. Through the WMD policy center he advocated for the recommendations in the Commission's report, "World at Risk". In 2011, Graham published his first novel, the thriller ''The Keys to the Kingdom''.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/bob-graham-promoting-novel-keys-to-the-kingdom/2011/06/20/AGPlGXjH_story.html |first=Linda |last=Davidson |title=Bob Graham pens spy novel 'Keys to the Kingdom' |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=June 25, 2011 |access-date=May 4, 2012 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=April 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415073844/http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/bob-graham-promoting-novel-keys-to-the-kingdom/2011/06/20/AGPlGXjH_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He also wrote four nonfiction books, ''Workdays: Finding Florida on the Job'', ''Intelligence Matters'', ''World at Risk,''<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Graham/Talent WMD Commission |author=The Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc123525/ |title=World at Risk: The Report of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism |publisher=[[Vintage Books]] |date=December 2008 |isbn=9780307473264 |via=[[UNT Digital Library]] |access-date=December 10, 2022 |archive-date=December 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221210191410/https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc123525/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and ''America: The Owner's Manual'', and an illustrated children's book, ''Rhoda the Alligator''.

 

Graham was born in [[Coral Gables, Florida]], to Hilda Elizabeth (née Simmons), a schoolteacher, and [[Ernest R. Graham (politician)|Ernest R. Graham]], a Florida state senator, mining engineer, and dairy/cattleman.<ref>{{Cite web |first=William Addams |last=Reitwiesner |author-link=William Addams Reitwiesner |url=http://www.wargs.com/political/graham.html |title=Ancestry of Bob Graham |website=WARGS ([[William Addams Reitwiesner]] Genealogical Services) |access-date=July 24, 2018 |archive-date=March 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328225536/http://www.wargs.com/political/graham.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He was the youngest of four children. His older half-brother, [[Phil Graham]], was publisher and co-owner of ''[[The Washington Post]]''. He married [[Adele Khoury Graham|Adele Khoury]], of [[Miami Shores, Florida|Miami Shores]], in 1959. One of their daughters, [[Gwen Graham]], was a U.S. Representative from Florida from 2015 to 2017. In 2021, Gwen was confirmed as Assistant Secretary of the [[United States Department of Education]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Jeffrey |last=Schweers |url=https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/state/2021/10/06/gwen-graham-confirmed-assistant-secretary-education/6022029001 |title=Gwen Graham's nomination as assistant secretary of education confirmed by U.S. Senate |date=October 6, 2021 |newspaper=[[Tallahassee Democrat]] |access-date=November 18, 2022 |archive-date=January 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104142112/https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/state/2021/10/06/gwen-graham-confirmed-assistant-secretary-education/6022029001/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

 

 

==Political career==

 

===Workdays===

 

===Governor of Florida===

Graham was elected to the governorship of Florida in 1978 after a seven-way Democratic primary race in which he initially placed second to [[Robert L. Shevin]]. His supporters at the time dubbed themselves "[[Florida cracker|Graham crackers]]."<ref>{{cite news |first=Bob |last=D'Angelo |url=https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/bob-graham-former-florida-governor-us-senator-dead-87/RS7NAZ4IBZCSBK2J3IFLKX2MUA/ |title=Bob Graham, former Florida governor, US senator, dead at 87 |work=[[KIRO-TV]] |publisher=[[Cox Media Group]] |location=[[Seattle|Seattle, WA]] |access-date=April 16, 2024 |date=April 16, 2024 |archive-date=April 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417052017/https://www.kiro7.com/news/trending/bob-graham-former-florida-governor-us-senator-dead-87/RS7NAZ4IBZCSBK2J3IFLKX2MUA/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

 

Graham emphasized education and focused on improving the state's public universities. In addition, Graham's administration focused on economic diversification and environmental policies. During his tenure as governor, the state added 1.2 million jobs, and for the first time in state history, Floridians' [[per capita]] income exceeded the U.S. average.<ref name="NYT Obit" />

Graham also launched the most extensive environmental protection program in Florida history, focused on preserving endangered lands. During his tenure, thousands of acres of threatened and environmentally important lands were brought into state ownership for permanent protection. His keystone accomplishment was the establishment of the Save the Everglades program, which has now been joined by the federal government in a commitment to restore the [[Everglades]].<ref name="NYT Obit" />

 

Graham left the governorship with an 83% approval rating. According to ''[[The New York Times]]'', he was one of Florida's most popular politicians.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nagourney |first1=Adam |title=Senator Graham Considers Run for President |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/24/politics/campaigns/24GRAH.html |access-date=October 9, 2014 |work=The New York Times |date=December 24, 2002 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=October 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015164236/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/24/politics/campaigns/24GRAH.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

 

===U.S. Senator===

 

Graham served 10 years on the [[United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence]], which he chaired during and after [[9/11]] and the run-up to the [[Iraq war]]. He led the [[Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities before and after the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001|joint congressional investigation into 9/11]]. As chair of the Intelligence Committee, Graham opposed the War in Iraq and was one of the 23 senators to vote against President [[George W. Bush]]'s request for authorization of the use of military force. After meeting with military leaders in February 2002 and requesting and reviewing a [[National Intelligence Estimate]], he said he "felt we were being manipulated and that the result was going to distract us from where our real enemies were". He continued to oppose the Iraq War, saying in 2008: "I'm afraid I never wavered from my belief that this was a distraction that was going to come to a bad end in Iraq and an even worse end in [[Afghanistan]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/17/graham-i-never-wavered-i_n_91844.html |title=Graham: I Never Wavered In My Belief That The War Was Wrong |last=Stein |first=Sam |work=[[HuffPost|The Huffington Post]] |date=March 28, 2008 |access-date=November 24, 2010 |archive-date=July 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726012204/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/17/graham-i-never-wavered-i_n_91844.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

 

In 2004, Graham published ''Intelligence Matters: The CIA, the FBI, Saudi Arabia and the Failure of America's War on Terror''.<ref name="NYT Obit" />

 

 

===Presidential and vice presidential politics===

 

====2004 presidential election====

{{Main|Bob Graham 2004 presidential campaign}}

In December 2002, Graham announced his candidacy for President of the United States in the [[2004 United States presidential election|2004 election]]. However, he withdrew from the race in October 2003, several months after heart surgery, and retired from the Senate the following year.<ref name="NYT Obit" />

 

==After politics==

[[File:Former senator Bob Graham 2.jpg|thumb|Graham ''(center)'', with former Florida Governor [[Buddy MacKay]] ''(right)'' at the dedication ceremony for Pugh Hall, home of the Graham Center for Public Service at the University of Florida]]

 

After his year at Harvard, Graham focused on founding a center to train future political leaders at the [[University of Florida]], where he earned his bachelor's degree in political science in 1959.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lash |first1=Jolie |url=https://abc7chicago.com/former-senator-and-florida-governor-bob-graham-dies-at-87/14680915/ |title=Former Senator and Florida Governor Bob Graham dies at 87 |access-date=April 17, 2024 |work=[[WLS-TV|ABC7 Chicago]] |date=April 17, 2024 |language=en |archive-date=April 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417195153/https://abc7chicago.com/former-senator-and-florida-governor-bob-graham-dies-at-87/14680915/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Bob Graham Center for Public Service]] is housed within the [[University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences|College of Liberal Arts and Sciences]] at the [[University of Florida]]. It provides students with opportunities to train for future leadership positions, and allows them to engage with policy makers and scholars in the university community. On February 9, 2008, The James and Alexis Pugh Hall, funded by longtime friends of the Graham family, was dedicated in the historic area of campus. Pugh Hall serves as the Center's home as well as the university's oral history and African and Asian languages programs.<ref>{{cite web |title=About |url=https://bobgrahamcenter.ufl.edu/about/ |website=[[Bob Graham Center for Public Service]] |publisher=[[University of Florida]] |access-date=April 17, 2024 |language=en |archive-date=April 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240405035209/https://bobgrahamcenter.ufl.edu/about/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

 

 

 

Graham's health declined after a stroke in 2020.<ref name="NYT Obit" /> On April 16, 2024, he died at a retirement community in [[Gainesville, Florida]], at the age of 87.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Bill |last=Cotterell |title=Bob Graham, former Florida governor and U.S. senator with a common touch, dies at 87 |url=https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/2024/04/16/bob-graham-dies-former-florida-governor-us-senator-obituary/73332740007/ |access-date=April 17, 2024 |date=April 16, 2024 |newspaper=Tallahassee Democrat |language=en-US |archive-date=April 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417020516/https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/2024/04/16/bob-graham-dies-former-florida-governor-us-senator-obituary/73332740007/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

On May 6, 2006, at the spring commencement for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the [[University of Florida]] awarded Graham an honorary doctorate, the Doctor of Public Service.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UF Honorary Degrees |url=https://fora.aa.ufl.edu/docs//21//Jan%202019%20Honorary%20Degrees.pdf |access-date=March 31, 2022 |website=[[University of Florida]] |archive-date=December 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216185508/https://fora.aa.ufl.edu/docs//21//Jan%202019%20Honorary%20Degrees.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

 

 

==References==

[[Category:1936 births]]

[[Category:2024 deaths]]

[[Category:20th-century Florida politicians]]

[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]

[[Category:21st-century American novelists]]

[[Category:21st-century Florida politicians]]

[[Category:American environmentalists]]

[[Category:Candidates in the 2004 United States presidential election]]

[[Category:Cornell family]]

[[Category:Democratic Party Florida state senators]]

[[Category:Democratic Party governors of Florida]]

[[Category:Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives]]

[[Category:Harvard Law School alumni]]

[[Category:Members of the Inter-American Dialogue]]