George McGovern American politician, author Date of Birth: 19.07.1922 Country: USA

Biography of George McGovern

George Stanley McGovern was an American politician, author, historian, World War II veteran, senator, and a presidential candidate in 1972. He was born in 1922 in Avon, South Dakota. His father, Reverend Joseph C. McGovern, was a pastor in the Wesleyan Methodist Church. George was the second of four children in the family. He grew up as an ambitious and dreamy boy, always fascinated by the sky. As a student at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, South Dakota, McGovern started taking flying lessons, which boosted his self-confidence and earned him respect among his peers. It was at the university that George discovered his talent for public speaking. In 1942, his speech 'My Brother's Keeper' was recognized as one of the twelve best speeches by the National Council of Churches. After that, he served in the military as a fighter pilot during World War II, completing 35 combat missions over Europe. On one occasion, McGovern managed to land his damaged plane on the Yugoslavian coast while under heavy fire and enemy control, saving his crew. For this operation, he received the Distinguished Flying Cross. After returning from the war, George completed his education, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree. During this time, he became actively involved in politics, which eventually led him away from his initial desire to follow in his father's footsteps and become a Methodist pastor. After a period of exploration, McGovern settled on the Democratic Party and supported Harry S. Truman in the 1948 presidential election. In 1952, he enthusiastically supported Adlai Stevenson and even named his son after him. However, Stevenson did not become president, although he was a prominent figure in the Democratic Party. It is worth mentioning that Democrats were a minority in South Dakota at that time. In 1956, McGovern unexpectedly became a member of the House of Representatives, becoming the first Democratic congressman from South Dakota in 22 years. In the fall of 1962, McGovern ran for the U.S. Senate and, once again unexpectedly, won, becoming the first Democratic senator from South Dakota in 26 years. Later, McGovern gained a reputation as a vocal critic of the Vietnam War, consistently opposing the deployment of troops and criticizing the incumbent president. When McGovern himself ran for president in 1972, his platform included not only ending the Vietnam War but also granting amnesty to draft evaders. He ultimately lost the election to Richard Nixon, with Nixon receiving 60.7% of the votes and McGovern only 37.5%. It was said that George McGovern took his defeat very hard and even considered emigrating to England. However, in 1974, he returned to work in the Senate. However, nothing particularly noteworthy happened in his political career afterward, and he lost his seat by the 1980s. McGovern was later labeled the "great loser of America," and people said that "he spent his whole life torn between his beliefs and his career." He became a symbol of defeat and crisis that engulfed the United States in the 1970s. From 1998 to 2001, McGovern served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture. In 2001, he was appointed as a United Nations Ambassador for Hunger, and for his contributions in the fight against hunger, McGovern was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000. George McGovern passed away on the night of October 21, 2012, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He was married to Eleanor Stegeberg from October 1943, and they had five children. McGovern was also the author of numerous books on political topics.