31 Facts About Gil Carmichael

Gilbert Ellzey Carmichael was an American businessman and politician.

Gil Carmichael later became a partner in a car dealership in Meridian, Mississippi, before taking over the business.

Gil Carmichael ran for a US Senate seat in 1972 and in 1975 ran for the office of Governor of Mississippi, the first serious Republican contender for the post in decades.

Gil Carmichael lost a narrow race and made another unsuccessful bid in 1979.

Gil Carmichael launched an unsuccessful independent campaign in 1983 to be elected Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi.

Gilbert Ellzey Carmichael was born on June 27,1927, in Columbia, Mississippi, United States to Calvin Ellzey Carmichael and Clyde Myrna Smith Carmichael.

Gil Carmichael's father died when he was young, forcing his mother to provide for the family.

Gil Carmichael graduated from Columbia High School in 1944, served in the United States Military from 1945 to 1946.

Gil Carmichael was commissioned as an officer in the United States Coast Guard during the Korean War.

Gil Carmichael commanded a boat which retrieved two men off of the ship's bow, and for his efforts was awarded a Silver Lifesaving Medal for "heroic action".

Gil Carmichael later became a partner in a car dealership in Meridian, Mississippi, before buying out the entire business.

Gil Carmichael established a Volkswagen dealership in 1961 and later expanded to sell Audi and Mercedes vehicles.

Gil Carmichael sold his dealerships in Meridian upon his appointment to the Federal Railroad Administration, but retained their buildings and later used them as he became involved in his son's commercial real estate company, Missouth Properties.

Gil Carmichael became involved in politics in the 1960s, making two unsuccessful bids for a seat in the Mississippi State Legislature and chairing Rubel Phillips's 1963 gubernatorial campaign organization in Lauderdale County.

Gil Carmichael won the Republican primary election, but faced opposition in his bid from national Republicans.

Gil Carmichael ultimately lost the general election to Eastland, taking only 39 percent of the vote.

In 1975, Gil Carmichael declared his candidacy for the office of Governor of Mississippi.

Gil Carmichael was the first serious Republican candidate for gubernatorial office in decades.

Gil Carmichael supported the creation of a new state constitution, the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, the supply of federal financial aid to New York City, gun registration, reduced penalties for marijuana possession, and mandatory school attendance for children.

Gil Carmichael ultimately lost but drew 47 percent of the vote, a high figure for a statewide Republican candidate at that time.

Gil Carmichael served as a delegate at the 1976 Republican National Convention and backed Gerald Ford's candidacy.

The convention revealed significant conservative-moderate divisions in the party as well as disagreement over race, and Gil Carmichael declared that he wanted to ensure that the party would not become "lily white and hard right".

Gil Carmichael ultimately had better name recognition and prevailed in the primary, taking 17,216 votes to his opponent's 15,236.

In 1983, Gil Carmichael ran for the office of lieutenant governor as an independent.

Gil Carmichael advocated changing the Mississippi state flag later in his life.

In 1973 Gil Carmichael was appointed to the National Highway Safety Advisory Committee as a consolation for the Nixon administration's lack of support for him in the 1972 Senate race.

Gil Carmichael became its chairman before being made the federal commissioner for the National Transportation Policy Study Commission in 1976.

Gil Carmichael worked in the Federal Railroad Administration from 1989 to 1993 and strongly supported intermodal freight transport.

Gil Carmichael created the Transportation Institute at the University of Denver in 1996.

Gil Carmichael was made chairman the following year and left the council in mid-2002.

Gil Carmichael died of a heart attack at Anderson Regional Medical Center in Meridian, Mississippi on January 31,2016.