Republican governor of Oregon from 1959 to 1967, and 30 year Senator Mark Hatfield passed away this evening at a care home in Portland. He was 89 years of age.

From the Oregonian,

“Mark O. Hatfield, the former governor and senator who transformed Oregon’s economy and landscape while becoming one of the nation’s most prominent skeptics of military might, died about 6 p.m. in Portland at the age of 89.”

Wikipedia says in part of his Political Career,

“A native Oregonian, he served in the United States Navy in the Pacific Theater during World War II after graduating from Willamette University. After the war he earned a graduate degree from Stanford University before returning to Oregon and Willamette as a professor.”

“While still teaching, Hatfield would then serve in both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. He won election to the Oregon Secretary of State’s office at the age of 34 and two years later was elected as the 29th Governor of Oregon. He was the youngest person to have ever served in either of those offices, and served two terms as governor before election to the United States Senate. In the Senate he would serve for 30 years, and now holds the record for longest serving Senator from Oregon. Also at the time of his retirement he was 7th most senior Senator as well as second most senior Republican. In 1968, he was considered a candidate to be Richard Nixon’s running mate for the Republican Party presidential ticket.”

My condolences to his family.