1. Michael Stanley Dukakis is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1991.
63 Facts About Michael Dukakis
1. 2.
Michael Dukakis is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history and only the second Greek-American governor in US history, after Spiro Agnew.
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Michael Dukakis won the 1974 Massachusetts gubernatorial election but lost his 1978 bid for re-nomination to Edward J King.
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Michael Dukakis defeated King in the 1982 gubernatorial primary and served as governor from 1983 to 1991, presiding over a period of economic growth known as the "Massachusetts Miracle".
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Michael Dukakis prevailed in the Democratic primaries and was formally nominated at the 1988 Democratic National Convention.
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Michael Dukakis made history as the first Greek-American and Aromanian presidential candidate, first Greek Orthodox major-party nominee, and the first major-party nominee with ancestry outside Europe.
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Since the death of Jimmy Carter in 2024, Michael Dukakis is the oldest living presidential nominee.
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Since leaving office, Michael Dukakis has served on the board of directors for Amtrak and taught political science at Northeastern University and UCLA.
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Michael Dukakis was mentioned as a potential appointee to the Senate in 2009 to fill the vacancy caused by Ted Kennedy's death, but Governor Deval Patrick chose Paul G Kirk.
10.
In 2012, Michael Dukakis backed the successful Senate campaign of Elizabeth Warren, whom he supported in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries.
11.
Michael Dukakis was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, on November 3,1933.
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Michael Dukakis's father Panos was a Greek immigrant from Edremit in Turkey.
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Panos Michael Dukakis settled in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1912, and graduated from Harvard Medical School twelve years later, subsequently working as an obstetrician.
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Michael Dukakis's mother Euterpe was born in Larissa, to Aromanian parents from Vrysochori.
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Michael Dukakis attended Brookline High School in his hometown, where he was an honor student and a member of the basketball, baseball, tennis, and cross-country teams.
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Michael Dukakis graduated from Swarthmore College in 1955 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science.
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The unit was a support group to the United Nations delegation of the Military Armistice Commission Michael Dukakis served from 1955 to 1957.
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Michael Dukakis then received his JD degree from Harvard Law School in 1960.
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Michael Dukakis is an Eagle Scout and recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America.
20.
Michael Dukakis began his political career as an elected town meeting member in the town of Brookline.
21.
Michael Dukakis served four terms in the Massachusetts House of Representatives between 1962 and 1970.
22.
In 1966, Michael Dukakis unsuccessfully ran for Attorney General of Massachusetts.
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In 1970, Michael Dukakis was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor on a ticket led by Boston mayor Kevin White.
24.
Michael Dukakis was elected governor in 1974, defeating the incumbent Republican Francis Sargent during a period of fiscal crisis.
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Michael Dukakis won in part by promising to be a "reformer" and pledging a "lead pipe guarantee" of no new taxes to balance the state budget.
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Michael Dukakis pledged to dismantle the powerful Metropolitan District Commission, a bureaucratic enclave that served as home to hundreds of political patronage employees.
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Governor Michael Dukakis hosted President Gerald Ford and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II during their visits to Boston in 1976 to commemorate the bicentennial of the United States.
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Michael Dukakis gained some notice as the only politician in the state government who went to work during the Blizzard of 1978, during which he went to local TV studios in a sweater to announce emergency bulletins.
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Michael Dukakis is remembered for his 1977 exoneration of Sacco and Vanzetti, two Italian anarchists whose trial sparked protests around the world.
30.
Michael Dukakis, despite being the incumbent Democratic governor, was refused renomination by his own party.
31.
Michael Dukakis suffered a scathing defeat in the primary, a disappointment that his wife Kitty called "a public death".
32.
In 1980, Michael Dukakis published his book State and Cities: The Massachusetts Experience.
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Four years later, having made peace with the state Democratic Party, MDC, the state police and public employee unions, Michael Dukakis defeated King in a re-match in the 1982 Democratic primary.
34.
Future United States senator, 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, and US Secretary of State John Kerry was elected lieutenant governor on the same ballot with Michael Dukakis, and served in the Michael Dukakis administration from 1983 to 1985.
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Michael Dukakis served as governor during which time he presided over a high-tech boom and a period of prosperity in Massachusetts while simultaneously earning a reputation as a 'technocrat'.
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Michael Dukakis was known for riding the subway to work every day as governor.
37.
Michael Dukakis won the Democratic nomination, with 2,877 out of 4,105 delegates.
38.
Michael Dukakis chose Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas to be his vice presidential running mate.
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Michael Dukakis made history as the first non-Western European American nominated for president by a major party, and was, until President Obama's nomination in 2008, the only major presidential nominee in history with ancestry from outside Northwestern Europe.
40.
The Associated Press reported in April 1988 that there was an "outpouring of pride in Michael Dukakis", which was especially strong and sentimental among older generations of Greek Americans.
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Michael Dukakis stressed his working-class background as the son of impoverished immigrants, and his fluency in Greek among several other languages.
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Regardless of community support, Michael Dukakis had trouble with the personality that he projected to the voting public.
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Michael Dukakis's reserved and stoic nature was easily interpreted to be a lack of passion; Dukakis was often referred to as "Zorba the Clerk".
44.
Michael Dukakis's support for a prison furlough program was a major election subject.
45.
Michael Dukakis was criticized during the campaign for a perceived softness on defense issues, particularly the controversial "Star Wars" program, which he promised to weaken.
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On September 13,1988, Michael Dukakis visited the General Dynamics Land Systems plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan, to take part in a photo op in an M1 Abrams tank.
47.
General Dynamics protocol requires one to wear the protective helmet for safety and communication when the tank is running at full speed, although Michael Dukakis campaign staffers were aware that a politician putting on any headgear was a faux pas.
48.
The image of Michael Dukakis wearing a helmet while riding the tank was ridiculed by Bush and the media.
49.
The Michael Dukakis campaign produced a 60-second response ad that featured a television set playing Bush's ad, which is flicked off the screen by a finger later revealed to be Michael Dukakis as he proclaims that he is fed up with "George Bush's negative TV ads", but this "pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey advertising" only ended up drawing further attention to the tank ride.
50.
Michael Dukakis made some strong showings in states that had voted for Republicans Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford.
51.
Michael Dukakis managed to pull off a close win in New York, which at the time was the second largest state in terms of electoral votes; he scored victories in Rhode Island, Hawaii, his home state of Massachusetts, Oregon, and Washington.
52.
Michael Dukakis swept Iowa, winning by 10 points in a state that had voted Republican in the last five presidential elections.
53.
Michael Dukakis carried most of the southern-central parishes of Louisiana, which was his best Southern popular vote margin.
54.
Michael Dukakis announced in early 1989 that he would not seek reelection to a fourth term.
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Michael Dukakis had retired from his teaching roles by 2021.
56.
Michael Dukakis is a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One.
57.
Michael Dukakis has been an advocate for effective public transportation and high-speed rail as a solution to automobile congestion and the lack of space at airports; and for extended learning time initiative in public schools.
58.
Michael Dukakis went on to state that he would not object to the naming of the as-yet unbuilt North-South Rail Link after him.
59.
In 2012, Michael Dukakis worked to support the successful candidacy of fellow Democrat Elizabeth Warren to the US Senate.
60.
Michael Dukakis endorsed Setti Warren's unsuccessful 2018 candidacy for the Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial nomination.
61.
Michael Dukakis endorsed Elizabeth Warren's candidacy in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries.
62.
Michael Dukakis later endorsed Democratic nominee, Joe Biden during the general election.
63.
John is the issue of Kitty's first marriage, to Phoenix businessman John Chaffetz ; Michael Dukakis adopted John, Jr.