10 Facts About Pete Peterson

Douglas Brian "Pete" Peterson was born on June 26,1935 and is an American politician and diplomat.

Pete Peterson served as a United States Air Force pilot during the Vietnam War and spent over six years as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese army after his plane was shot down.

Pete Peterson served three terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 1996 and returned to Hanoi when he became the first United States Ambassador to Vietnam in 1997.

Pete Peterson was an ambassador until July 2001, after which he devoted himself to philanthropic work.

Pete Peterson joined the United States Air Force and served in the Vietnam War, where his F-4 Phantom II fighter was shot down on September 10,1966.

Pete Peterson served for 5 years on the faculty of Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida.

In 1990, Peterson ran as a Democrat for a seat in the United States House of Representatives in Florida's 2nd congressional district.

Pete Peterson defeated Bill Grant, the incumbent congressman who had grown unpopular after switching from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party in the middle of his second term.

Pete Peterson was confirmed by the Senate and began his tenure in 1997.

Since retiring as ambassador, Peterson founded The Alliance for Safe Children, TASC, which aims to lower preventable injuries to children worldwide, and focuses specifically on such issues as drowning in Asia.