Levin, Sander, 1931-

Variant names

Dates:

Birth 1931-09-06

Birth 1931

Gender:

Male

Nationality: Americans,

Language: English, English,

Biographical notes:

Sander Martin Levin (born September 6, 1931) is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he notably served as a U.S. Representative from Michigan's 17th (1983-1993), 12th (1993-2013), and 9th (2013-2019) congressional districts. He was the older brother of U.S. Senator Carl M. Levin.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, he graduated from Central High School there before earning a B.A. degree from the University of Chicago, an M.A. degree in international relations from Columbia University, and an LL.B. degree from Harvard Law School. Afterwards, he developed a private practice in Detroit. Levin was named chairman of the Oakland County Democratic Party in 1962. He was elected as State Senator for Michigan's 13th district in 1964, serving from 1965 to 1971. Following the 1967 resignation of Michigan Democratic Party chairman Zolton Ferency, Levin was elected state party chairman on December 17. He resigned his position as minority floor leader the following January. He served as Senate minority leader from January 1969 to January 1970, when he resigned to run for governor. He made unsuccessful campaigns for Governor of Michigan in 1970 and 1974, both times losing to Republican William Milliken. He was a Fellow of the Harvard Kennedy School in 1975. From 1977 through 1981 he was assistant administrator of the Agency for International Development.

In 1982, incumbent Democratic U.S. Congressman William Brodhead decided not to run for re-election, instead making an unsuccessful run for governor. Levin won the Democratic primary and general election in Michigan's 17th congressional district. He typically won re-election with at least 56% of the vote thereafter. As a member of Congress, Levin was a supporter of Israel. He supported the nuclear deal with Iran, and said that Israel, the region, and the world would be more secure under the Iran nuclear deal. Levin took over as chairman of the Ways and Means committee on March 4, 2010, when Charles B. Rangel of New York stepped aside in due to a number of ethics violations. Levin served as chairman until January 2011 and ranking member until the end of 2016. In December 2017, Levin announced that he would retire from Congress at the end of his current term, and not seek re-election in 2018. His son, Andy, was elected on November 6, 2018, and took office in the 116th Congress, which commenced on January 3, 2019.