Romney, << ROM nee, >> George Wilcken (1907-1995), was secretary of housing and urban development from 1969 to 1973 under President Richard M. Nixon. From 1963 to 1969, Romney was governor of Michigan.
Romney was elected governor after taking a leading role at the constitutional convention that remodeled Michigan’s government. He was reelected in 1964 and 1966. Romney’s administration increased state programs in civil rights and education, modernized the state tax structure, and ended the financial problems that had plagued Michigan. In 1964, Romney refused to support the Republican presidential candidate, conservative Senator Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona. In 1967, Romney became a front-runner for the 1968 Republican presidential nomination. He withdrew from the race for the nomination in February 1968, after public opinion polls showed Nixon far in the lead.
Romney was born on July 8, 1907, in Chihuahua, Mexico, of American parents. At the age of 5, he returned with his family to the United States. He attended the University of Utah and George Washington University. From 1930 to 1962, Romney followed a business career and became president of American Motors Corporation. Under his leadership, the company developed and marketed America’s first successful compact automobile, the Rambler. Romney also held high positions in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He died on July 26, 1995.
Romney’s son Mitt served as governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. Mitt Romney ran for, but did not win, the Republican nomination for president in 2008. He won the nomination in 2012 but lost to President Barack Obama in the general election.
See also Romney, Mitt
