Ted Stevens

Ted Stevens
3rd President pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate
In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2009
President	Dick Cheney
Preceded by	Robert Byrd
Succeeded by	Patrick Leahy
87th President pro tempore of the United States Senate
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007
President	Dick Cheney
Preceded by	Robert Byrd
Succeeded by	Robert Byrd
Senate Majority Whip
In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1985
Leader	Howard Baker
Preceded by	Alan Cranston
Succeeded by	Alan Simpson
Senate Minority Leader Acting
In office November 1, 1979 – March 5, 1980
Preceded by	Howard Baker
Succeeded by	Howard Baker
Senate Minority Whip
In office January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1981
Leader	Howard Baker
Preceded by	Robert Griffin
Succeeded by	Alan Cranston
United States Senator from Alaska
In office December 24, 1968 – January 3, 2009
Preceded by	Bob Bartlett
Succeeded by	Mark Begich
Member of the Alaska House of Representatives from the 8th district
In office January 3, 1964 – January 3, 1968
Preceded by	multi-member district
Succeeded by	mult-member district
Solicitor of the United States Department of the Interior
In office September 1960 – January 20, 1961
President	Dwight Eisenhower
Secretary	Fred Seaton
U.S. Attorney for the Fourth Division of Alaska Territory
In office March 30, 1954 – June 1956
President	Dwight Eisenhower
Preceded by	Robert McNealy
Succeeded by	George Yeager
Personal details
Born	Theodore Fulton Stevens (1923-11-18)November 18, 1923 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Died	August 9, 2010(2010-08-09) (aged 86) Dillingham, Alaska, U.S.
Resting place	Arlington National Cemetery
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Ann Mary Cherrington (1952–1978) Catherine Bittner (1980–2010)
Children	6, including Ben
Education	Oregon State University Montana State University, Bozeman University of California, Los Angeles (BA) Harvard University (LLB)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1943–1946
Unit	United States Army Air Forces
Battles/wars	World War II, The Hump

Theodore Fulton "Ted" Stevens, Sr. (November 18, 1923 – August 9, 2010) was a Republican U.S. Senator from Alaska. He served in the United States Senate for 40 years from 1968 to 2009. He was the 87th President Pro Tempore of the Senate from 2003–2007. For his services as president pro tempore, Senator Stevens was named as only the third President pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate. Even by Senate standards, Stevens was extremely effective at getting billions of dollars in federal funds for Alaska. He was so effective at it he was nicknamed "uncle Ted". He also served as the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior from 1960 to 1961. The airport in Anchorage, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport was named after him in 2000. Stevens was born in Indianapolis. In 2010, Stevens died in a plane crash in Alaska at the age of 86.

Career

Early career and education

Stevens was born on November 18, 1923 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

World War II pilot

In World War II Stevens joined the US Army Air Corps as a pilot. He flew transport planes in China supporting the Flying Tigers. He was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Air Medals and the Yun Hai Medal by the Republic of China.

Political career

After serving in the Second World War, he went into law in Fairbanks, Alaska where he became a US Attorney soon after. When Dwight Eisenhower was president, Stevens worked in the Interior and helped to make Alaska a state. In 1968 he was appointed to the Senate, where he served for the next forty years. While in the Senate he was known for taking action for his own state: preserving Alaskan wilderness areas, protecting fisheries, and building the Trans Alaska Pipeline. He also helped set up the US Olympic Committee. In 2008 he was charged with major crimes related to corruption days before his reelection, which he lost to Mark Begich. He planned on trying to get his Senate seat back after he the charges were dropped, but he died in a plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness in 2010.