Ed Derwinski: Difference between revisions

|name = Ed Derwinski

|image = Ed derwinski.jpg

|president = [[George H. W. Bush]]

|term_start = March 15, 1989

|restingplace = [[Arlington National Cemetery]]

|party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]

|children = 2

|education = [[Loyola University Chicago|Loyola University, Chicago]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])

He was born in [[Chicago, Illinois]], on September 15, 1926, to Sophia Zmijewski and Casimir Ignatius Derwinski, who died in 1947. Derwinski attended [[Loyola University Chicago|Loyola University of Chicago]]. Derwinski served in the [[United States Army]] in the [[Asiatic-Pacific Theater|Pacific Theater]] during [[World War II]] and in the postwar [[Occupied Japan|U.S. occupation of Japan]]. He graduated from [[Loyola University Chicago]] in 1951. He was a celebrated member of [[Alpha Delta Gamma]] National Fraternity.

 

In 1957, he was elected to the [[Illinois House of Representatives]], where he served one term before winning election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1958. He served 12 terms as a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] representative from the [[Illinois' 4th congressional district|4th District]] of [[Illinois]], a suburban region south and west of Chicago, eventually becoming ranking member of the [[United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs|House Foreign Relations Committee]]. He also served as a delegate to the [[United Nations General Assembly]] 1971-1972 and as chairman of the U.S. delegation to the [[Interparliamentary Union]] from 1970–1972 and 1978-1980.

 

A [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] [[redistricting]] plan after the [[United States Census, 1980|1980 Census]] carved up the 4th District, with only about 15% of its territory being retained and added to various territory from other districts; Derwinski and fellow Republican congressman [[George M. O'Brien]] were placed in the same district, and O'Brien won the [[United States House elections, 1982|1982]] primary on the strength of having more of his previous district included in the new configuration. After Derwinski's loss, President [[Ronald Reagan]] appointed him Counselor to the [[United States Department of State|State Department]]. In 1987, Reagan appointed him [[Under Secretary of State]] for Security Assistance, Science and Technology, where he served until the end of Reagan's term, shortly after which he was appointed Administrator of Veterans Affairs, in charge of the Veterans Administration, which was elevated to cabinet-level status as the Department of Veterans Affairs in 1989, making Derwinski the first Secretary of Veterans Affairs.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/congress/edward-j-derwinski-first-secretary-of-the-department-of-veterans-affairs-dies/2012/01/18/gIQA5IlL9P_story.html|title=Edward J. Derwinski, first secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, dies|work=[[The Washington Post]] |date=January 18, 2012}}</ref>