Alexander, Lamar (1940-…), is a Republican who held a number of posts in government and education. From 2003 to 2021, he served as a United States senator from Tennessee. He has also served as governor of that state, as a university president, and as U.S. secretary of education.
Andrew Lamar Alexander, Jr., was born on July 3, 1940, in Maryville, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. He received a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University in 1962 and a law degree from New York University School of Law in 1965. Alexander briefly worked as a lawyer and as a law clerk in the United States Court of Appeals before entering politics. He served as an assistant and as campaign manager to several moderate Republicans, including Senator Howard H. Baker, Jr. From 1971 to 1978, Alexander again practiced law while he launched his own political career. He ran for governor of Tennessee in 1974 but lost the election. He ran again in 1978 and won, serving two terms as governor from 1979 to 1987. The centerpiece of his administration was a sweeping reform of the state’s educational system that raised standards for both teachers and students.
After his second term as governor ended, Alexander spent six months traveling in Australia with his wife and their four children. He wrote about their experience in Six Months Off: An American Family’s Australian Adventure (1988).
In 1988, Alexander became president of the University of Tennessee. He served until 1991, when President George H. W. Bush named him secretary of education. Alexander held the Cabinet post until 1993 and then returned to private law practice. In 1996 and again in 2000, he campaigned for the Republican presidential nomination but dropped out of both races after the early primaries.
Alexander was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002 and took office in January 2003. He was reelected in 2008 and 2014. As a senator, Alexander focused on health, education, and water issues. While serving as the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, he helped lead the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Alexander did not seek reelection in 2020.
