Francis Hughes Murkowski (born March 28, 1933) is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He was a United States Senator from Alaska from 1981 until 2002 and Governor of Alaska from 2002 until 2006.
Murkowski was born in Seattle, Washington to Frank Michael Murkowski and Helen Hughes. His father was of Polish descent. He was raised in Ketchikan, Alaska and initially attended Santa Clara University but graduated from Seattle U...
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Francis Hughes Murkowski (born March 28, 1933) is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He was a United States Senator from Alaska from 1981 until 2002 and Governor of Alaska from 2002 until 2006.
Murkowski was born in Seattle, Washington to Frank Michael Murkowski and Helen Hughes. His father was of Polish descent. He was raised in Ketchikan, Alaska and initially attended Santa Clara University but graduated from Seattle University, both Catholic universities run by the Society of Jesus. Prior to his election to the Senate in 1980, he worked in the banking industry in Anchorage and Wrangell. In 1970, he was the Republican nominee for the at-large U.S. House seat, but lost to Nick Begich, 55%-45%. He married Nancy Gore and they have six children.
During his time in the Senate, he was most notable as Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee from 1995 to 2001. As chair, he argued and attempted unsuccessfully to open the Arctic National Wildlife...
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