Ted Kulongoski

Theodore Ralph Kulongoski ( ; born November 5, 1940) is an American politician, judge, and lawyer who served as the 36th Governor of Oregon from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly and also served as the state Insurance Commissioner. He was the Attorney General of Oregon from 1993 to 1997 and a justice of the Oregon Supreme Court from 1997 to 2001. Kulongoski has served in all three branches of the Oregon state government. Early life and education Kulongoski was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1940 to Theodore Kulongoski (1905-1941), the son of Polish immigrants, and his wife Helen, née Newcomer (1915-1997). He was one year old when his father died of cancer, and spent the rest of his childhood in a Catholic boys' home. After high school, Kulongoski served in the Marines. With the help of the G.I. Bill, he obtained an undergraduate and Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri School of Law in 1970. Career After graduating from law school, Kulongoski moved to Eugene, Oregon, and became a labor lawyer. In 1974, Kulongoski was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives and, in 1978, to the Oregon State Senate. In Oregon's 1980 United States Senate election, he ran an unsuccessful race against Republican Bob Packwood. In 1982, he made his first bid for governor; he was defeated by Republican incumbent Victor G. Atiyeh.