TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

Former Gov. Don Sundquist Dies at 87

Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Aug 28, 2023
News Type: Passages

Don Sundquist, a former congressman and two-term Republican governor died Sunday. He was 87. The Tennessean reports that he died at a Memphis hospital following surgery and a short illness. Sundquist moved to Memphis in 1972, and became active in Republican Party politics. He led the National Young Republicans for three years, was an organizer for Sen. Barry Goldwater's presidential campaign, served as a delegate to the 1976 and 1980 Republican National Conventions, and managed the presidential campaign of Sen. Howard Baker. He was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1982 from the Seventh District and served in that role for 12 years. Sundquist was elected as the state’s 47th governor and served from 1995 to 2003. During his tenure, Tennessee saw significant economic development and the arrival of two professional sports franchises. Sundquist focused his efforts on welfare reform, crime reduction and a failed effort to enact a state income tax. After leaving office, he moved to East Tennessee where he founded a lobbying firm and co-founded a barbeque restaurant. Funeral arrangements are pending though Sundquist will lie in state at the Tennessee Capitol before he is laid to rest in Townsend. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Foundation to Eradicate Duchenne.

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