US Senator, Oregon Governor. He graduated from Willamette University in 1943 and served in the Navy during World War II, manning a landing craft during the Iwo Jima invasion and becoming one of the first Americans to see the effects of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. After the war he completed a master's degree at Stanford University in 1948 and became a Professor and Dean of Students at Willamette. A Republican, he served in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1951 to 1955 and the Oregon Senate from 1955 to 1957. From 1957 to 1959 he served as Oregon's Secretary of State. In 1958 he was elected Governor and served from 1959 to 1967. In 1966 he was elected to the US Senate, and he was reelected four times, serving from January, 1967 to January, 1997. Hatfield was Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee from 1981 to 1987 and 1995 to 1997. A liberal Republican who opposed the death penalty, nuclear weapons proliferation and US involvement in the Vietnam War, by the end of his career he was out of step with his younger, more conservative colleagues, who considered removing him from his committee chairmanship for not being a party loyalist. He did not run for reelection in 1996 and lectured on political science at Portland State University, George Fox University and Willamette University. In addition Hatfield authored several books, including a memoir, 2000's "Against the Grain: Reflections of a Rebel Republican."
US Senator, Oregon Governor. He graduated from Willamette University in 1943 and served in the Navy during World War II, manning a landing craft during the Iwo Jima invasion and becoming one of the first Americans to see the effects of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. After the war he completed a master's degree at Stanford University in 1948 and became a Professor and Dean of Students at Willamette. A Republican, he served in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1951 to 1955 and the Oregon Senate from 1955 to 1957. From 1957 to 1959 he served as Oregon's Secretary of State. In 1958 he was elected Governor and served from 1959 to 1967. In 1966 he was elected to the US Senate, and he was reelected four times, serving from January, 1967 to January, 1997. Hatfield was Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee from 1981 to 1987 and 1995 to 1997. A liberal Republican who opposed the death penalty, nuclear weapons proliferation and US involvement in the Vietnam War, by the end of his career he was out of step with his younger, more conservative colleagues, who considered removing him from his committee chairmanship for not being a party loyalist. He did not run for reelection in 1996 and lectured on political science at Portland State University, George Fox University and Willamette University. In addition Hatfield authored several books, including a memoir, 2000's "Against the Grain: Reflections of a Rebel Republican."
Bio by: Bill McKern
Inscription
LTJG US Navy
World War II
Oregon Statesman
1951-1997
Family Members
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