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George Wilcken Romney (July 8, 1907–July 26, 1995) was chairman of the American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1962 and was elected three times as the Republican Governor of Michigan from 1963 to 1969. He was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968, losing to Richard Nixon.
Background
Romney, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was born in a church colony in Chihuahua, Mexico. His family was forced to flee to the United States in 1912 because of the Mexican Revolution, lived for a time in Oakley, Idaho and finally ending up in Salt Lake City, Utah.
In 1926, Romney spent two years as a Mormon missionary in England and Scotland. During his time in England, he preached in such places as Hyde Park and Tower Hill, and developed a plan with a socialist to help create crowds by heckling the other's speeches, thereby creating a stir.
Romney took coursework at the University of Utah and George Washington University, but never completed work on a college degree.
In the late 1920s, Romney followed his high school sweetheart, Lenore LaFount, to Washington, DC after her father had accepted a government position. Romney became a speechwriter for Massachusetts Democratic senator David I. Walsh, then moved on to become a lobbyist for Alcoa in 1930. When LaFount, an aspiring actress, began earning bit roles in Hollywood movies, Romney was able to be transferred out West to continue the relationship. When LaFount had the opportunity to sign a three-year contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, Romney convinced her to return to Washington, and married her on July 2, 1931.
Automobile industry
After nine years with Alcoa, Romney's career had stagnated, so he moved to Detroit with his wife and their two daughters to become the local manager of the Automobile Manufacturers Association. During World War II, Romney headed the Automotive Council for War Production, which worked to optimize automotive companies' war production.
After the war, Romney worked as an executive for the manufacturing firm Nash-Kelvinator Corporation under company head George Mason, and played a key role in the development of the Rambler. When that firm merged on May 1, 1954 with Hudson Motor Car to become the American Motors Corporation, Romney became the chairman of the combined company.
Working with Mason and chief engineer Meade Moore, Romney first helped phase out the company's famous Nash and Hudson automobiles. Romney then insisted that the company attempt a then-untried strategy of focusing on making compact cars, an approach that led to unexpected financial success for AMC. At the time of the decision, the company had been on the verge of being taken over by corporate raider Louis Wolfson, but the company's resurgence made Romney a household name, and he capitalized on it by entering politics.
Politics
He led the Constitutional Convention that revised Michigan's Constitution from 1961 to 1962 and followed this up with a successful 1962 campaign for Governor of Michigan. Romney was a strong supporter of civil rights and was generally considered a moderate Republican, perhaps a bit to the right of Nelson Rockefeller, but well to the left of Barry Goldwater or Ronald Reagan.
After toying with the idea of running for President in 1964, Romney decided to run in the 1968 election. However, in September 1967, he committed a gaffe during an interview with Detroit broadcaster Lou Gordon when he stated that he had gotten the "greatest brainwashing" after meeting with generals discussing the Vietnam War in 1965. The comment would severely damage his campaign, forcing him to drop out just prior to the New Hampshire primary.
Following the election of Richard Nixon, Romney was named as Housing and Urban Development secretary. He served in that office until the start of Nixon's second term in January 1973. During his four years, Romney slightly increased the amount of federally subsidized housing, but was prevented from expanding the concept to suburban areas.
Retirement
For much of the next two decades, he was out of the public eye, but re-emerged in 1994 when he helped campaign for his son, Mitt Romney, during the younger Romney's unsuccessful bid to unseat Senator Edward M. Kennedy in Massachusetts.
That same year, Romney's ex-daughter-in-law, Ronna Romney, decided to seek the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate from Michigan while continuing to use her married name. (She was formerly married to the governor's other son, Scott Romney.) The former governor showed his displeasure by endorsing her opponent, Spencer Abraham, who went on to win the primary and the general election.
The following year, Romney died of a heart attack at the age of 88, while exercising on his treadmill in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
In 2002, Mitt Romney was elected to the office of Governor of Massachusetts (Republican).
See also
References
- D. Duane Angel, Romney: A Political Biography (1967)
- Hess, Stephen and David S. Broder. The Republican Establishment: The Present and Future of the G.O.P. New York : Harper & Row, 1967.
- T. George Harris, Romney's Way: A Man and an Idea (1967)
- Andrew L. Johns; "Achilles' Heel: The Vietnam War and George Romney's Bid for the Presidency, 1967 to 1968" Michigan Historical Review, Vol. 26, 2000 pp 1+
- Clark R. Mollenhoff, George Romney: Mormon in Politics (1968)
1907 births | 1995 deaths | United States Secretaries of Housing and Urban DevelopmentGovernors of Michigan | Automotive related biographies | Lobbyists | Latter Day Saints | American Mexicans People from Michigan | People from Utah
"George W. Romney"