Sargent Shriver

Infobox Ambassador
name=Robert Sargent Shriver


image_size=250px
order2=21^st
ambassador_from2=United States
country2=France
term_start2=April 22, 1968
term_end2=March 25, 1970
predecessor2=Charles E. Bohlen
successor2=Arthur K. Watson
president2=Lyndon B. Johnson Richard Nixon
order3 = 1^st Director of the Peace Corps
term_start3 = 1961
term_end3 = 1966
president3 = John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson
primeminister3 =
predecessor3 = ("None")
successor3 = Jack Vaughn
birth_date=birth date and age|mf=yes|1915|11|9
birth_place= Westminster, Maryland
death_date=
death_place=
spouse=Eunice Kennedy Shriver (1953 - present) (55 years)
children= 5
relations= Robert Sargent Shriver and Hilda Shriver
party=Democratic
profession=Attorney
religion= Roman Catholic
alma_mater= Yale University
Yale Law School
branch= United States Navy
serviceyears=1941 – 1945
rank=Lieutenant
unit=
battles=World War II
awards=World War II Victory Medal

Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr. (born November 9, 1915) is an American Democratic politician and activist. Known as "Sargent," Shriver is best-known as part of the Kennedy family, the driving force behind the creation of the Peace Corps, and the Democratic Party's 1972 vice presidential candidate. He was born in Westminster, Maryland.

Early life and career

Shriver was born in Westminster, Maryland to Robert Sargent Shriver, Sr. and Hilda Shriver. The Shriver family is descended from David Shriver, who signed the Maryland Constitution and Bill of Rights at Maryland's Constitutional Convention of 1776. [cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,906202-1,00.html |title=The New Nominee No Longer Half a Kennedy - TIME |publisher=Time Magazine |date=1972-08-14 |accessdate=2008-09-27 ] He spent his high school years at the Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut, which he attended on a full scholarship. After graduating, Shriver spent the summer in Germany as part of the Experiment in International Living, returning in the fall of 1934 to begin college at Yale University. He received his bachelor's degree in 1938 from Yale University, where he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and Scroll and Key Society. He was Chairman of the "Yale Daily News". Shriver went on to attend Yale Law School, earning an LL.B. degree in 1941.

An early opponent of American involvement in World War II, Shriver was a founding member of America First, an organization that tried to keep America out of the war. Still, Shriver volunteered for the U.S. Navy, claiming he had a duty to serve his country even if he disagreed with its policies. He spent five years in active duty and became a full lieutenant. Shriver ultimately came to believe in the justness of American involvement in the war and retracted his early opposition.Fact|date=May 2008

Shriver's involvement with the Kennedy family began when family patriarch Joseph Kennedy, Sr. hired him to manage the Merchandise Mart, part of Kennedy's business empire, in Chicago, Illinois.

After a seven-year courtship, Shriver married Eunice Kennedy, a sister of then-Senator John F. Kennedy, on May 23, 1953 at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. [ [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Archives+and+Manuscripts/Shriver.Sargent/fa_shriver_long.htm R(obert) Sargent Shriver: Papers (#214) - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum ] ] They have five children: Robert Sargent Shriver III (born April 28, 1954), Maria Owings Shriver (November 6, 1955) - current First Lady of California and wife of Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (they have 4 children) - , Timothy Perry Shriver (August 29, 1959), Mark Kennedy Shriver (February 17, 1964), and Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver (July 20, 1965).

Shriver was admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia, Illinois, New York, and at the U.S. Supreme Court.cite web |url=http://www.ffhsj.com/index.cfm?pageID=42&itemID=580 |title=Sargent Shriver |publisher=Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP |accessdate=2008-06-07]

Shriver is a devout Catholic who attends daily mass and carries a rosary with well-worn wooden beads. [cite web|url=http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/1009097.html |publisher=National Catholic Reporter |title="Sargent Shriver and the politics of life |date=2002-08-30]

Political career

John F. Kennedy

When John F. Kennedy ran for president, Shriver worked as a political and organization coordinator in the Wisconsin and West Virginia primaries.

Lyndon B. Johnson

After Kennedy's assassination, Shriver served as Special Assistant to President Johnson. Under Johnson, he created the Office of Economic Opportunity with William B. Mullins and served as the first Director. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2D81630F935A25756C0A966958260 W. B. Mullins, 52, A Founding Official Of the Peace Corps - New York Times ] ]

Political activism

Shriver's ebullient personality and creative energy made him one of the most effective leaders of President John F. Kennedy's New Frontier and Lyndon Johnson's Great Society in the 1960s.Fact|date=May 2008

He founded numerous social programs and organizations, including Head Start, VISTA, Job Corps, Community Action, Upward Bound, Foster Grandparents, Special Olympics, the National Center on Poverty Law, Legal Services, Indian and Migrant Opportunities and Neighborhood Health Services, and directed the Peace Corps. Shriver also ran the War on Poverty during Johnson's tenure as president. He was such an effective leader, that "Job Corps" and "Adams and Associates" dedicated a Center to his name in 1999.Fact|date=May 2008 The Job Corps Center (Shriver Job Corps) is located in Devens, Massachusetts.

Ambassador to France

Shriver served as U.S. ambassador to France from 1968 to 1970, becoming a quasi-celebrity among the French for bringing what "Time magazine" called "a rare and welcome panache" to the normally staid world of international diplomacy.

Vice Presidential candidate

In 1970, Shriver flirted with the possibility of running for Governor of Illinois or, more seriously, Maryland. He later admitted that his nascent campaign in Maryland was badly managed, and he soon decided to leave politics to practice law.Fact|date=June 2008

Shriver returned to elective politics in 1972, when George McGovern chose him as his Vice Presidential running mate after McGovern's first pick, Thomas Eagleton, turned out to have had a history of mental health problems. The McGovern-Shriver ticket lost to Republican candidates Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew.

Shriver sought the Democratic nomination for President in 1976. His candidacy was short and he returned to private life. [cite web |url=http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK+Library+and+Museum/News+and+Press/JFK+Presidential+Library+Opens+Sargent+Shriver+Collection.htm |title=JFK Presidential Library Opens Sargent Shriver Collection |publisher=John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum |accessdate=2008-06-07 |date=2005-02-01]

He remains to date the most recent pro-life supporter to have been in a Democratic Party presidential ticket.

Life after politics

He has been associated with the Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson law firm in the Washington, D.C., where he specialized in international law and foreign affairs, since 1971. He retired as partner in 1986 and was named of counsel to the firm.

In 1981, Shriver was appointed to the Rockefeller University Council, an organization devoted exclusively to research and graduate education in the biomedical and related sciences.

In 1984, he was elected President of Special Olympics by the Board of Directors; as President, he directed the operation and international development of sports programs around the world. Six years later, in 1990, he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Special Olympics.

Shriver has suffered from Alzheimer's disease for several years. His daughter, Maria, has published a children's book, "What's Happening to Grandpa?", to help explain Alzheimer's to children. The book also gives kids suggestions on how to help and to show love to an elderly person with the disease. In July 2007, Shriver's son-in-law, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, speaking out in favor of stem-cell research, announced that Shriver's Alzheimer's disease had advanced to the point that he no longer recognizes many of those close to him. [cite web |url=http://www.thestar.com/News/article/219810 |title=Terminator gunning to save lives |publisher=Toronto Star |accessdate=2008-06-07 |date=2007-05-31]

Legacy

In 1993, Shriver received the Franklin D. Roosevelt Freedom From Want Award. On August 8, 1994, Shriver received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor, from President Bill Clinton.cite web |url=http://www.medaloffreedom.com/SargentShriver.htm |title=Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Sargent R. Shriver |accessdate=2008-06-08 |date=1994-08-08]

An elementary school located in Wheaton, Maryland is named after Shriver, called Sargent Shriver Elementary School. [ [http://www.gazette.net/stories/111407/olnenew134117_32355.shtml Hands-on lessons for Shriver students ] ] [ [http://www.gazette.net/stories/091306/takonew203021_31953.shtml New school year, new elementary school] ] [ [http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/firstweek0607/shriver.shtm August 29: Sargent Shriver's Family Visits the New Shriver ES] ]

In January 2008, a documentary film about Shriver aired on PBS, titled "American Idealist: The Story of Sargent Shriver". [http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/01/18/070521.php]

Electoral history

United States presidential election, 1972
*Richard Nixon/Spiro Agnew (R) (inc.) - 47,168,710 (60.7%) and 520 electoral votes (49 states carried)
*George McGovern/Sargent Shriver (D) - 29,173,222 (37.5) and 17 electoral votes (1 state and D.C. carried)
*John Hospers/Theodora Nathan (Libertarian) - 3,674 (0.00%) and 1 electoral votes (Republican faithless elector)
*John G. Schmitz/Thomas J. Anderson (AI) - 1,100,868 (1.4%) and 0 electoral votes
*Linda Jenness/Andrew Pulley (Socialist Workers) - 83,380 (0.1%)
*Benjamin Spock/Julius Hobson (People's) - 78,759 (0.1%)

1976 Democratic presidential primaries [ [http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=55206 Our Campaigns - US President - D Primaries Race - Feb 01, 1976 ] ]
*Jimmy Carter - 6,235,609 (39.27%)
*Jerry Brown - 2,449,374 (15.43%)
*George Wallace - 1,955,388 (12.31%)
*Mo Udall - 1,611,754 (10.15%)
*Henry M. Jackson - 1,134,375 (7.14%)
*Frank Church - 830,818 (5.23%)
*Robert Byrd - 340,309 (2.14%)
*Sargent Shriver - 304,399 (1.92%)
* Unpledged - 283,437 (1.79%)
*Ellen McCormack - 238,027 (1.50%)
*Fred R. Harris - 234,568 (1.48%)
*Milton Shapp - 88,254 (0.56%)
*Birch Bayh - 86,438 (0.54%)
*Hubert Humphrey - 61,992 (0.39%)
*Ted Kennedy - 19,805 (0.13%)
*Lloyd Bentsen - 4,046 (0.03%)
*Terry Sanford - 404 (0.00%)

ee also

*List of United States political appointments that crossed party lines

References

*cite book|last=Clinton|first=Bill|authorlink=Bill Clinton|title=My Life|year=2004|publisher=Knopf|location=New York|id=ISBN
*cite book|last=Stossel|first=Scott|title=Sarge: The Life and Times of Sargent Shriver|year=2004|publisher=Smithsonian Books|location=Washington, D.C.|id=ISBN

External links

*imdb name|id=0795418|name=Sargent Shriver
* [http://www.sargentshriver.org Sargent Shriver Peace Institute]
* [http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/4117.html Peace Corps biography]
* [http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/speccol/sc2600/sc2685/html/conv1776.html Ancestor David Shriver]
* [http://www.povertylaw.org/ Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law]
* [http://www.ffhsj.com/index.cfm Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson Law Firm]
* [http://shrivercenter.org/index.html The Shriver Center Official Site]
* [http://shrivercenter.org/about_rsshriver.html Robert Sargent Shriver Biography]
* [http://americanidealistmovie.org/ American Idealist Movie]

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
before=none
title=Director of the Peace Corps
years=1961–1966
after=Jack Vaughnsuccession box
before=Charles E. Bohlen
title=U.S. Ambassador to France
years=1968–1970
after=Arthur K. Watsonsuccession box
before=Edmund Muskie "(previous race)", Thomas Eagleton "(previous candidate)"⁽¹⁾
title=Democratic Party Vice Presidential candidate
years=1972 (lost)
after=Walter Mondale