Lawton Chiles

Lawton Mainor Chiles, Jr. (April 3, 1930 – December 12, 1998) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Florida. He served as a United States senator from 1971 to 1989 and as the 41st governor of Florida from 1991 to 1998.

Lawton Chiles

A Korean War veteran, Chiles later returned to Florida for law school and eventually opened his own private practice in 1955. Three years later, Chiles entered politics with a successful bid for the Florida House of Representatives in 1958, as a member of the Democratic Party. By 1966, Chiles left the Florida House to run for the Florida Senate. Despite 12 years in the Florida Legislature, Chiles was relatively unknown when he decided to bid for United States Senate in 1970.

Quotes

• We can show the way. We can make dust -- or eat dust.
  • State of the State address [1] (2 February 1993)
• To be a successful state, we have to nurture successful children.
  • State of the State address [2] (4 March 1997)