27 Facts About Abner Mikva

Abner Joseph Mikva was an American politician, federal judge, and legal scholar.

Abner Mikva served in the United States House of Representatives representing Illinois's 2nd congressional district and 10th congressional district.

Abner Mikva was appointed as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit by President Jimmy Carter, serving from 1979 to 1994.

Abner Mikva served as the White House Counsel from 1994 to 1995 during Bill Clinton's presidency.

Abner Mikva was one of the few people in modern times to serve in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the Federal government.

Abner Mikva mentored future President of the United States Barack Obama and future United States Attorney General Merrick Garland during their early years in law.

Abner Mikva was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Ida and Henry Abraham Abner Mikva, Jewish immigrants escaping from pogroms in Ukraine.

The couple moved to Chicago, Illinois, where Zoe had urged Abner Mikva to enroll at the University of Chicago Law School.

Abner Mikva graduated in 1951 with a Juris Doctor, having served as editor-in-chief of the University of Chicago Law Review.

Abner Mikva spent ten years, 1956 to 1966, in the Illinois House of Representatives.

Abner Mikva was defeated for reelection in 1966, but "reinvented himself" as a community activist, winning election to the United States Congress in 1968.

Abner Mikva served in the US House of Representatives from 1969 to 1973 and 1975 to 1979.

Abner Mikva first represented Illinois's 2nd District, which included the South Side's lakefront wards including Hyde Park, his residence and the University of Chicago.

Abner Mikva was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on May 29,1979, to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to a new seat authorized by 92 Stat.

Abner Mikva served as Chief Judge from 1991 to 1994.

Abner Mikva's service terminated on September 19,1994, due to retirement, after which he became White House Counsel to President Bill Clinton.

Abner Mikva taught law at Northwestern University and was White House Counsel under President Bill Clinton from 1994 to 1995, finding himself the oldest member of the White House team, and eventually resigning due to exhaustion.

Abner Mikva then returned to the University of Chicago Law School, serving as the Schwarz Lecturer and the senior director of the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic.

Abner Mikva offered Obama a law clerk position in his judicial office after Obama graduated from Harvard Law School, but Obama declined.

Abner Mikva served as a mediator through JAMS, and was co-chairman of the Constitution Project's bipartisan Constitutional Amendments Committee.

In November 2004, Abner Mikva was an international election monitor of Ukraine's contested presidential election.

Abner Mikva Challenge is a non-profit, non-partisan organization whose mission is to develop youth to be informed, empowered, and active citizens and community leaders who will promote a just and equitable society.

Abner Mikva Challenge has chapters in Chicago, Illinois, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles, California, and partner sites spanning the country including Cobb County, Georgia, Wilmington, Delaware, Rochester, New York, New York City, New York, Louisville, Kentucky, Riverside, California, New Hampshire, Detroit, Michigan, and Macomb County, Michigan, Madison, Wisconsin, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Abner Mikva died under hospice care in Chicago, Illinois, from complications of bladder cancer on July 4,2016, aged 90.

Abner Mikva was suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at the time of his death.

In 1998, Abner Mikva received the Chicago History Museum's "Making History Award" for Distinction in Public Service.

In 2016, Congress renamed the United States Post Office in downtown Evanston, Illinois, after Abner Mikva, who had lived in Evanston and represented it as a congressional representative.