Pete Dawkins

Peter Miller Dawkins (born March 8, 1938 in Royal Oak, Michigan) is a former U.S. Army Brigadier General, Heisman Trophy winner, Rhodes Scholar, and businessman. He is currently vice chairman of CitiGroup Private Bank.

At age eleven, he was successfully treated for polio by unconventional means with aggressive physical therapy. Earning a scholarship Dawkins entered Cranbrook Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He was an all-league quarterback, and captain of the baseball team.

Athletics

Although accepted at Yale University, Dawkins chose instead to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. He won high honors, serving as Brigade Commander, President of his Class, Captain of the football team, and a "Star Man" in the top 5% of his class academically. A cadet is considered outstanding if he attains even one of these positions. Dawkins was the only cadet in history to hold all four at once. The young man was featured in Life Magazine and Reader's Digest. Even before his graduation, many predicted the bright young man would make General and perhaps even be Army Chief of Staff. Dawkins was selected for the Heisman Trophy as a halfback for Army in 1958, as well as being named Outstanding College Football Player in the nation, and an All American under coach Earl Blaik. He also lettered in baseball, and was Assistant Captain of the hockey team.

Education

Dawkins was named a Rhodes Scholar, and in 1959 began his studies at Oxford University reading for a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE). He later earned a M.P.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton.

Military career

Dawkins served as a U.S. Army officer, receiving two Bronze Stars for Valor for his service in Vietnam, and holding commands in the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. He was a White House Fellow in the 1973-1974 class. At the conclusion of his 24-year career in the Army, Dawkins retired with the rank of Brigadier General. Following his retirement from the Army, Dawkins took up a position as a partner in the Wall Street firm Lehman Brothers, later becoming vice-chairman of Bain and Company. In 1991, he moved on to become chairman and CEO of Primerica Financial Services, Inc..

Political career

In 1988 he unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg for his seat in the United States Senate from New Jersey. The race was notable for the negative tone that emerged from both sides and Lautenberg's criticism of Dawkins' lack of roots in the state. Dawkins lost by an 8% margin.

Donald Trump

In 2004 Donald Trump blasted Dawkins in his book "How to Get Rich" because he refused to do a "favor" for Trump involving Dawkins's position with Citicorp. Trump never disclosed what that favor was, though he says it was "completely legal and above board", but the fact that he would need someone so high up on the Citibank corporate ladder suggests he may have been asking Dawkins to do something not entirely proper.

Electoral history