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Politics and Government |
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Politics & Government William J. Brennan: Retired Supreme Court Justice 1906-1997 "People call it the Warren court, but in many ways it was the Brennan court. On all the key issues, he put together the coalitions and persuaded the others." Justice William Brennan was an independently minded liberal who championed individual rights. He was appointed by President Dwight Eisenhower and served a term that spanned eight presidents before he retired in 1990. Brennan was considered one of the high court's most influential members in U.S. history, and his keen intellect was respected by liberals and conservatives alike.  Jorge Mas Canosa: Cuban American National Foundation leader 1939-1997 "Had it not been for Jorge Mas Canosa, we probably would have had normal relations with Cuba. He has almost single-handedly blocked all that." Jorge Mas Canosa wielded great political power in South Florida as head of the Cuban American National Foundation, a anti-Castro Cuban exile group. Uncompromising in his strong opposition to easing American sanctions on Cuba's communist regime, Mas Canosa pushed for the Helms-Burton Act and was credited with helping Republicans solidify support among Cuban immigrants.  Deng Xiaoping: Chinese paramount leader 1904-1997 "It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice." Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping opened his country's economy to the world, even while maintaining strict Communist ideological control. He combined these seemingly opposite forces with the same pragmatism used by his government to justify the Tiananmen Square democracy crackdown in 1989. Deng emerged as China's paramount leader following Mao Tse-tung's death in 1976, though he never officially took the posts of Communist Party chief or head of government. In 1992, the influential Deng came out of retirement to campaign for faster capitalist-style reform. The country responded with a boom that gave China the highest economic growth rate in the world -- and left the Communist Party increasingly irrelevant to the daily lives of the people.  Pamela Harriman: U.S. ambassador to France 1920-1997 "She had an ability to attract people around her." Pamela Harriman's colorful life included a U.S. ambassadorship to France, three well-connected marriages and numerous alleged affairs. A controversial figure, she left behind a wealth of people who either admired her charisma or belittled her accomplishments, both in her ambassadorship and in her life. The United States praised her diplomatic skills in handling disputes over trade, Bosnia, NATO, the Middle East, Africa and CIA spying. Some of the French, meanwhile, looked upon her as a lightweight, more form than substance, fluent in French but not in international policy; hostess of the most lavish parties the embassy has seen, but unable to comment on U.S. policy in Bosnia.  Chaim Herzog: Former Israeli President 1918-1997 Herzog was "perhaps the most statesmanlike person Israel ever knew." Irish-born, Chaim Herzog was both an institution and an example of leadership in Israel. Ireland's bantamweight boxing champion as a child, Herzog proved to be nimble throughout his life, serving variously as Israeli president, United Nations ambassador, military officer and scholar on Israeli history. During his 10 years in office, he made 45 visits abroad, credited with helping to shape Israel's image internationally.  Mobutu Sese Seko: Former Zairian dictator 1930-1997 "Let us be clear, Mr. Mobutu has no role to play; he should leave Zaire now." A high-flying life. An ignominious death. That was Mobutu Sese Seko, the man whose fondness for leopard skin hats was as well documented as his iron-handed rule of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). Mobutu, the son of a cook and chambermaid, led one of the most enduring regimes in Africa -- and, said his critics, one of the most dictatorial and corrupt. His personal fortune was estimated to be as much as $5 billion. Mobutu's 32-year regime ended this year when he was ousted by rebel troops and forced into exile. Four months later, when Mobutu died in Morocco, there was no immediate mention of Mobutu's death on radio or television in the country where he spent his life.  Betty Shabazz: Malcolm X widow, civil rights activist 1936-1997 "One of the things Malcolm always said to me is, 'Don't be bitter. Remember Lot's wife when they kill me, and they surely will. You have to use all of your energy to do what it is you have to do.'" Widow, civil rights activist, educator, mother. Though never as high-profile as Coretta Scott King, Betty Shabazz was likewise revered as the widow of a martyred black leader. After her husband was gunned down in 1965, Shabazz earned a doctorate in education administration, eventually became director of public relations at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, New York, and raised the six daughters he left behind. Her death came tragically, three weeks after being severely burned in a house fire allegedly set by her 12-year-old grandson.  Paul Tsongas: Former U.S. senator and presidential candidate 1941-1997 "On traditional Democratic issues, human rights, civil rights, women's rights, the environment, I am a liberal, and I make no apology for that. But in terms of energy policy and in particularly in terms of economic policy I am a realist. I may sound like a Republican but if it works, I am for it." Paul Tsongas, a son of Greek immigrants, rose from city councilman of Lowell, Massachusetts, to represent the state in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. One of the first nationally known Democrats to push a pro-business agenda, his economic vision caught on long enough to put him briefly at the top of the 1992 presidential primaries. |
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