Jordan, Hamilton, 1944-

Hamilton Jordan was born on September 21, 1944 in Charlotte, North Carolina. He received a B.A. in political science from the University of Georgia in 1967. While a student at the University of Georgia, he was the Youth Coordinator for Jimmy Carter's unsuccessful campaign for governor of Georgia in 1966. From 1967 to 1968, he served with International Voluntary Services as a social worked in Vietnam. In 1970, Jordan managed Carter's campaign for governor, and served as Executive Secretary to Governor Carter from 1971 to 1973. He managed Carter's campaign for president in 1976, and served in the Carter White House from 1977 to 1980, first as Assistant to the President (1977 to 1979) and later as Chief of Staff (1979 to 1980). He managed the Carter-Mondale re-election campaign in 1980. Jordan was a political commentator for Cable News Network (CNN) in Atlanta in 1981, and was a distinguished visiting fellow in political science at Emory University in Atlanta, 1981 to 1982. In 1984, he worked as a consultant in corporate and international communications in Atlanta, and in 1986 he ran unsuccessfully in the Georgia Democratic Party primary for the U.S. Senate. From 1991 to 1992 he was president and chief operating officer of Whittle Communications in Knoxville, Tennessee; since 1992 he has served as Vice chairman of Whittle Communications. In 1992, Jordan also served as Co-chairman of the Ross Perot Presidential Campaign. Jordan wrote two best-selling books, started an NFL franchise, was named "Sport Executive of the Year" for founding the ATP TOUR (men's professional tennis tour) and was involved in several business ventures in the health and biotechnology sectors He is also a popular lecturer, drawing on his experiences as a three-time cancer survivor.