Kean, Thomas H., 1935-

Thomas Howard Kean (/ˈkeɪn/ KAYN;[1] born April 21, 1935) is an American businessman, academic administrator, and politician who served as the 48th governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990 and as president of Drew University from 1990 until 2005.

Following the September 11 attacks, Kean was appointed by President George W. Bush as chairman of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, widely known as the 9/11 Commission. On July 22, 2004, Kean and the commission released their findings in the 9/11 Commission Report, a 585-page report that included the commission's findings on events leading up to the September 11 attacks and steps that should be taken to avoid future terrorist attacks.

Kean is a member of the Republican Party and the father of U.S. Representative Thomas Kean Jr.Kean was born in New York City to a long line of Dutch Americans and New Jersey politicians. His mother was Elizabeth Stuyvesant Howard[2] and his father, Robert Kean, was a U.S. representative from 1939 until 1959.[3] Kean's grandfather Hamilton Fish Kean and great-uncle John Kean both served as U.S. senators from New Jersey. His second great-uncle was Hamilton Fish, a U.S. senator, governor of New York, and U.S. secretary of state. Kean is also descended from William Livingston, who was a delegate to the Continental Congress, was the first governor of New Jersey, and is considered a founding father of New Jersey.[2][4] In the 1981 general election, Kean defeated Democratic Representative Jim Florio in the closest election in New Jersey gubernatorial election history, winning by 1,797 votes.In striking contrast to his slim 1981 victory, Kean won re-election in 1985 with the largest margin of victory ever recorded in New Jersey gubernatorial history, defeating Peter Shapiro, then Essex County Executive, In 1990, following the end of his second gubernatorial term, Kean was named President of Drew University, a liberal arts university in Madison, New Jersey.

Thomas H. Kean was born on April 21, 1935. Kean received his B.A. degree from Princeton University and his M.A. from Columbia University Teachers College. He taught private school in Massachusetts before entering politics.

Kean was a member of the New Jersey Assembly from 1968-1977. He was elected governor of New Jersey in 1982. As Governor, Kean was rated among America's five most effective state leaders by Newsweek magazine; noted for tax cuts that spurred 750,000 new jobs; a federally replicated welfare reform program; landmark environmental policies, and over 30 education reforms. He delivered the keynote address at the 1988 Republican National Convention. He was re-elected for a second term by the largest margin in state history. Kean served on the President's Education Policy Advisory Committee and as chair of the Education Commission of the States and the National Governor's Association Task Force on Teaching. He holds more than 25 honorary degrees and numerous awards from environmental and educational organizations.

In 1990, after completing two terms in office, Kean became president of Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. While President of Drew, Kean has served on several national committees and commissions. He headed the American delegation to the UN Conference on Youth in Thailand, served as Vice Chairman of the American delegation to the World Conference on Women in Beijing; and served as a member of the President's Initiative on Race. He also served on the National Endowment for Democracy. He is chair of the Newark Alliance and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and former chair of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Educate America, and the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation.

On December 16, 2002, Kean was named by President George W. Bush to head the national commission to investigate the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Kean is on the board of a number of organizations including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National Council of the World Wildlife Fund. He is also the author of The Politics of Inclusion, published by the Free Press. He writes a regular column for The Star Ledger with former Governor Brendan Byrne and appears as a regular commentator on New Jersey Network News. His wife is the former Deborah Bye of Wilmington, Delaware. They have twin sons, Tom and Reed, and a daughter, Alexandra. The Keans live in Bedminster, New Jersey.