Mike Sullivan

Biography

Michael John Sullivan (born September 22, 1939) is an American lawyer, diplomat, and politician who served as the 29th governor of Wyoming from 1987 to 1995, and United States ambassador to Ireland from 1998 to 2001, as a member of the Democratic Party. Prior to his gubernatorial tenure, he was active in local politics in Natrona County, Wyoming. Sullivan was born in Omaha, Nebraska, as a member of a family active in the Wyoming Legislature and grew up in Douglas, Wyoming. He was educated at the University of Wyoming. He practiced law and became involved in local politics with his service on the Natrona County Memorial Hospital board. Sullivan won in the 1986 and 1990 gubernatorial elections despite being outspent both times by Pete Simpson and Mary Mead. During Sullivan's gubernatorial tenure he became the first governor in Wyoming's history to have his veto overturned, appointed three people to the Wyoming Supreme Court, oversaw Wyoming's only criminal execution after Furman v. Georgia, led the passage of a holiday in Martin Luther King Jr.'s honor, and chaired the Western Governors Association. He unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1994 before being appointed as the ambassador to Ireland by President Bill Clinton. He was the first governor to endorse Clinton during the 1992 Democratic presidential primaries and co-chaired his campaign in Wyoming during both presidential campaigns.

Bio from Wikipedia