Paul Tsongas
Paul Efthemios Tsongas (
February 14,
1941 –
January 18,
1997) was a
United States Senator from
Massachusetts and a member of the
United States Democratic Party.
Tsongas (pronounced SONG-gus) was born to a working-class
Greek father and native Massachusetts mother. He attended
Dartmouth and
Yale Law School before settling in
Lowell, Massachusetts.
He first entered politics as a
city councillor, elected to the Lowell City Council in 1969 and served two consecutive terms. Tsongas went on to serve as a county commissioner of
Middlesex County, Massachusetts. In 1974 he was elected to the
United States House of Representatives, defeating Republican incumbent
Paul Cronin. He served two terms in the House, and in 1978 he was elected to the
Senate, defeating incumbent
Edward Brooke. In 1983, however, he was diagnosed with
cancer and in 1984 announced his retirement from the Senate. After fighting the illness he returned to politics and in 1992 ran for his party's nomination for
President. He ran a strong campaign and succeeded in winning the
New Hampshire primary, but was eventually eclipsed by a resurgent
Bill Clinton (the "Comeback Kid"), who would go on to win the Presidency. Tsongas was viewed as a
centrist who embraced a number of
Republican policies. He was especially known for his pro-business economic policies that have come to be embraced by many in the modern Democratic Party. In particular, he focused on the United States budget deficit and its harmful effects, a cause he continued to champion after his primary campaign ended by co-founding
The Concord Coalition (
website).
A few years later the cancer returned and he died of
pneumonia and
liver failure.
On
January 27,
1998, the
Tsongas Arena in
Lowell was dedicated in his honor.
*
Stephen J. Ducat. 2004.
The Wimp Factor. Boston:
Beacon Press. ISBN 0807043443. p. 109
* Paul Tsongas. 1984.
Heading Home. New York:
Knopf. ISBN 0394541308.
*
Peace Corps biography of Paul Tsongas
