Wyche Fowler

Wyche Fowler
22nd United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
In office September 14, 1996 – March 1, 2001
President	Bill Clinton George W. Bush
Preceded by	Ray Mabus
Succeeded by	Robert W. Jordan
United States Senator from Georgia
In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1993
Preceded by	Mack F. Mattingly
Succeeded by	Paul D. Coverdell
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 5th district
In office April 6, 1977 – January 3, 1987
Preceded by	Andrew Young
Succeeded by	John Lewis
Personal details
Born	( 1940-10-06) October 6, 1940 Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Davidson College Emory University
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1963-1964

William Wyche Fowler, Jr. (born October 6, 1940) is an American politician and ambassador. He is a member of the Democratic Party and served as U.S. Senator from Georgia from January 1987 to January 1993. He had previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1977 until his senatorial election.

Early life and career

Fowler was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He attended Davidson College, and then entered the U.S. Army as an intelligence officer. After discharge, he returned to school to earn a law degree from Emory University School of Law.

From 1965 to 1966, he became the chief of staff for Congressman Charles Weltner, and after holding this post for two years, he resigned to become a private attorney. From 1974 to 1977, he served as an Atlanta City Councilman, and he used this position as a stepping stone to the House.

Congressional service

On April 5, 1977, he was elected in a special election to the U.S. House of Representatives, to fill the vacancy caused by Andrew Young's resignation upon appointment as US Ambassador to the United Nations.

In 1986, as a U.S. Representative, Fowler narrowly defeated the incumbent Republican Senator Mack Mattingly. Fowler served as the junior senator from Georgia; Sam Nunn was the serving senior senator at that time. Fowler's voting record was liberal on social concerns and moderate on economic and national security issues.

He unexpectedly lost his re-election bid in 1992 to Georgia state Senator Paul Coverdell (who would later become leader of the state's Republican party). Fowler won a small plurality of the vote against Coverdell on general election night 1992, but Georgia law requires a runoff election between the two candidates with the highest vote totals if no one candidate receives over 50 percent (a majority) of the total vote, and a Libertarian Party candidate received enough votes to keep Fowler's total below 50 percent-plus-one. In the runoff on November 11, 1992, Coverdell upset Fowler by a narrow margin.

The New York Times noted that "he was the key figure in orchestrating a compromise on financing for the National Endowment for the Arts."

Post-Congress career

Fowler went on to serve as the Clinton administration's United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1996 to 2001.

Since then, Fowler has joined the law firm of Powell, Goldstein, Frazer, and Murphy and several corporate and academic boards, including those of the Carter Center at Emory University and the Morehouse School of Medicine. He also became board chairman of the Middle East Institute.

External links

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• New Georgia Encyclopedia

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Andrew Young	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 5th congressional district April 6, 1977 – January 3, 1987	Succeeded by John Lewis
United States Senate
Preceded by Mack Mattingly	U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Georgia January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1993 Served alongside: Sam Nunn	Succeeded by Paul Coverdell
Party political offices
Preceded by Herman Talmadge	Democratic Party nominee for United States Senator from Georgia (Class 3) 1986, 1992	Succeeded by Michael Coles
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Ray Mabus	United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia 1996–2001	Succeeded by Robert W. Jordan