Cleland, Max, 1942-2021

<p>Max Cleland serves as an inspiration to many people across the nation for his ability to overcome tragedy and his dedication to public service. During his thirty-two-year political career he served in the legislative and executive branches of government, at both state and federal levels. He was the first person ever to receive more than a million votes in a Georgia election.</p>

<p>Joseph Maxwell Cleland, the only child of a working-class family, was born in Atlanta on August 24, 1942. He grew up in Lithonia and attended local schools while dreaming of a career in teaching or politics. He earned a B.A. from Stetson University in Florida, where he studied history and politics, and he continued his education at Emory University, eventually earning a master’s degree in history in 1968. A year into his master’s program, Cleland entered the army and was eventually deployed to Vietnam as a captain. On April 8, 1968, as Cleland was returning to his barracks, a grenade was accidentally dropped. Cleland reacted quickly by falling upon it, no doubt saving the lives of several soldiers. He lost both his legs and his right hand in the explosion. He was awarded the Silver Star and the Soldier’s Medal, and he underwent many months of rehabilitation in army hospitals.</p>

<p>As he grew stronger, Cleland decided to pursue a career in politics. In 1970 he became the youngest member of the Georgia senate. There he became an ally of Jimmy Carter’s, and the two developed a friendship that would endure for decades. Carter supported Cleland in his unsuccessful contest for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governorship in 1974 and then named him to head the Veterans Administration when Carter became U.S. president in 1977. Cleland was the youngest person, and the first Vietnam veteran, ever to head the agency. Cleland was seen as a sympathetic ear for other veterans, many of whom became his political supporters.</p>

<p><b>RACES</b>
<ul>
<li> 12/09/2003 Export-Import Bank Board Member Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li> 11/05/2002 GA US Senate Lost 45.91% (-6.86%)</li>
<li> 08/20/2002 GA US Senate- D Primary Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li> 11/05/1996 GA US Senate Won 48.87% (+1.33%)</li>
<li> 07/09/1996 GA US Senate - D Primary Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li> 11/08/1994 GA Secretary of State Won 70.13% (+40.26%)</li>
<li> 11/06/1990 GA Secretary of State Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li> 11/04/1986 GA Secretary of State Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li> 11/02/1982 GA Secretary of State Won 80.39% (+60.78%)</li>
<li> 08/31/1982 GA Secretary of State - D Runoff Won 51.85% (+3.69%)</li>
<li> 08/10/1982 GA Secretary of State - D Primary Won 47.18% (+3.57%)</li>
<li> 01/20/1977 Administrator of Veterans Affairs Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li> 08/13/1974 GA Lt. Governor - D Primary Lost 17.22% (-14.02%)</li>
<li> 11/07/1972 GA Senate 55 Won 53.72% (+7.45%)</li>
<li> 11/03/1970 GA Senate 55 Won 56.66% (+13.31%)</li>
</ul>
</p>

<p><b>SPECULATIVE, DID NOT RUN</b>
<ul>
<li> 05/20/2014 GA US Senate - D Primary Lost 0.00% (-74.98%)</li>
</ul>
</p>

CLELAND, Joseph Maxwell (Max), a Senator from Georgia; born in Atlanta, Ga., August 24, 1942; grew up in Lithonia and graduated from Lithonia High School 1960; graduated from Stetson University, DeLand, Fla. 1964; received a Master's degree from Emory University 1968; served in the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of captain 1965-1968; wounded in combat in Vietnam; member of the Georgia state senate 1971-1975; unsuccessful candidate for lieutenant governor 1974; consultant to Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs 1975, professional Senate staff member 1975-1977; appointed administrator of United States Veterans Administration by President Jimmy Carter in 1977, and served until 1981; Georgia Secretary of State 1982-1996; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate in 1996, and served from January 3, 1997 to January 3, 2003; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 2002.

<p>Former U.S. senator and Veterans Administration leader Max Cleland died Tuesday more than 53 years after a live grenade dropped by a fellow soldier in Vietnam robbed him of three limbs.</p>

<p>The injuries, however, did not take the unfettered optimism and grit that helped him climb from Georgia politics to some of the nation’s top offices.</p>

<p>A Democrat bound to a wheelchair most of his adult life, the 79-year-old Cleland was one of the first veterans from the killing grounds of Southeast Asia to enter American politics. He took a state senator’s seat in 1971, three years after his wounding, and went on to serve as top administrator in the U.S. Veterans Administration, as Georgia Secretary of State, a U.S. senator and an appointee in other federal agencies.</p>

<p>Cleland died at his Atlanta home from heart failure, according to a close friend and caregiver.</p>

<p>Joseph Maxwell Cleland (August 24, 1942 – November 9, 2021) was an American politician from the state of Georgia. Cleland, a Democrat, was a disabled US Army veteran of the Vietnam War, a recipient of the Silver Star and the Bronze Star for valorous actions in combat, and an United States Senator.</p>

<p>He also served as Administrator of Veterans Affairs (now a Cabinet-level position). From 2003 to 2007, he served on the Board of Directors of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, a presidentially-appointed position. From 2009 to 2017, he served as Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission.</p>

<p>After his defeat in 2002, no Georgia Democrats were elected to a full term in the United States Senate for 18 years until Jon Ossoff, who won Cleland's former seat in a 2021 runoff against incumbent Republican David Perdue.</p>