William Proxmire
William Proxmire | |
|---|---|
| United States Senator from Wisconsin | |
| In office August 28, 1957 – January 3, 1989 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph McCarthy |
| Succeeded by | Herb Kohl |
| Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the Dane County 2nd district | |
| In office January 10, 1951 – January 13, 1953 | |
| Preceded by | John M. Blaska |
| Succeeded by | Ervin M. Bruner |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edward William Proxmire November 11, 1915 Lake Forest, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | December 15, 2005 (aged 90) Sykesville, Maryland, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | Elsie Stillman Rockefeller
(m. 1946; div. 1955)Ellen Hodges Sawall (m. 1956) |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Yale University (BA) Harvard University (MBA, MPA) |
| Signature | |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1941–1946 |
| Rank | First Lieutenant |
| Unit | Counterintelligence Corps |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Edward William Proxmire (November 11, 1915 – December 15, 2005) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1957 to 1989. He holds the record for being the longest-serving senator from Wisconsin.
Known as a political maverick and an aggressive critic of wasteful government spending, Proxmire invented and awarded the tongue-in-cheek Golden Fleece Award to appropriations he found particularly egregious. He was a member of the Senate Banking Committee, the Senate Appropriations Committee, and the Joint Economic Committee. On the Joint Economic Committee, he exposed numerous instances of wasteful spending on military programs such as the C-5 aircraft and the F-16 fighter, as well as other government programs such as the development of a supersonic transport airplane (SST).