Alan K. Simpson

Alan Kooi Simpson (born September 2, 1931) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party, who served from 1979 to 1997 as a United States Senator from Wyoming. His father, Milward L. Simpson, was also a member of the U.S. Senate from Wyoming (1962–1967), and served as a Wyoming governor (1955–1959).

In 2010, Simpson was appointed by President Obama to co-chair the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform with Democrat co-chair Erskine Bowles of North Carolina.

Early life

Simpson was born in Denver, Colorado, the son of the former Lorna Kooi, and Milward Lee Simpson. His middle name, "Kooi", comes from his mother and maternal grandfather, whose parents were Dutch immigrants. In his youth, Simpson was a Boy Scout, and once visited Japanese American Boy Scouts who, along with their families, had been interned near Ralston, Wyoming, during World War II. There, he developed a friendship with Norm Mineta, who later became a Democratic U.S. representative from California, and the United States Secretary of Transportation in the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush. Mineta and Simpson served together in Congress, and on the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, and remain close friends.