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Sargent Shriver |
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Robert Sargent Shriver
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| In office April 22, 1968 – March 25, 1970 |
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| President | Lyndon B. Johnson Richard Nixon |
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| Preceded by | Charles E. Bohlen |
| Succeeded by | Arthur K. Watson |
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| In office 1961 – 1966 |
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| President | John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson |
| Preceded by | (None) |
| Succeeded by | Jack Vaughn |
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| Born | November 9, 1915 Westminster, Maryland |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Eunice Kennedy Shriver (1953 - present) (55 years) |
| Relations | Robert Sargent Shriver and Hilda Shriver |
| Children | 5 |
| Alma mater | Yale University Yale Law School |
| Profession | Attorney |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1941 – 1945 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | World War II Victory Medal |
Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr. (born November 9, 1915) is an American Democratic politician and activist. Known as "Sargent," Shriver is best-known as part of the Kennedy family, the driving force behind the creation of the Peace Corps, and the Democratic Party's 1972 vice presidential candidate. He was born in Westminster, Maryland.
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Shriver was born in Westminster, Maryland to Robert Sargent Shriver, Sr. and Hilda Shriver. The Shriver family is descended from David Shriver, who signed the Maryland Constitution and Bill of Rights at Maryland's Constitutional Convention of 1776.1 He spent his high school years at the Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut, which he attended on a full scholarship. After graduating, Shriver spent the summer in Germany as part of the Experiment in International Living, returning in the fall of 1934 to begin college at Yale University. He received his bachelor's degree in 1938 from Yale University, where he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and Scroll and Key Society. He was Chairman of the Yale Daily News. Shriver went on to attend Yale Law School, earning an LL.B. degree in 1941.
An early opponent of American involvement in World War II, Shriver was a founding member of America First, an organization that tried to keep America out of the war. Still, Shriver volunteered for the U.S. Navy, saying he had a duty to serve his country even if he disagreed with its policies. He spent five years in active duty and became a full lieutenant. Shriver ultimately came to believe in the justness of American involvement in the war and retracted his early opposition.citation needed
Shriver's involvement with the Kennedy family began when family patriarch Joseph Kennedy, Sr. hired him to manage the Merchandise Mart, part of Kennedy's business empire, in Chicago, Illinois.
At the age of nearly 38 Shriver married after a seven-year courtship to Eunice Kennedy, a sister of then-Senator John F. Kennedy, on May 23, 1953 at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.2 They have five children: Robert Sargent Shriver III (born April 28, 1954), Maria Owings Shriver (November 6, 1955) – wife of Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California (they have 4 children) – Timothy Perry Shriver (August 29, 1959), Mark Kennedy Shriver (February 17, 1964), and Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver (July 20, 1965).
Shriver was admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia, Illinois, New York, and at the U.S. Supreme Court.3
Shriver is a devout Catholic who attends daily mass and carries a rosary with well-worn wooden beads.4
When John F. Kennedy ran for president, Shriver worked as a political and organization coordinator in the Wisconsin and West Virginia primaries.
After Kennedy's assassination, Shriver served as Special Assistant to President Johnson. Under Johnson, he created the Office of Economic Opportunity with William B. Mullins and served as the first Director.5
Shriver's ebullient personality and creative energy made him one of the most effective leaders of President John F. Kennedy's New Frontier and Lyndon Johnson's Great Society in the 1960s.citation needed
He founded numerous social programs and organizations, including Head Start, VISTA, Job Corps, Community Action, Upward Bound, Foster Grandparents, Special Olympics, the National Center on Poverty Law, Legal Services, Indian and Migrant Opportunities and Neighborhood Health Services, and directed the Peace Corps. Shriver also ran the War on Poverty during Johnson's tenure as president. He was such an effective leader, that Job Corps and Adams and Associates dedicated a Center to his name in 1999.citation needed The Job Corps Center (Shriver Job Corps) is located in Devens, Massachusetts.
Shriver served as U.S. ambassador to France from 1968 to 1970, becoming a quasi-celebrity among the French for bringing what Time magazine called "a rare and welcome panache" to the normally staid world of international diplomacy.
In 1970, Shriver flirted with the possibility of running for Governor of Illinois or, more seriously, Maryland. He later admitted that his nascent campaign in Maryland was badly managed, and he soon decided to leave politics to practice law.citation needed
Shriver returned to elective politics in 1972, when George McGovern chose him as his Vice Presidential running mate after McGovern's first pick, Thomas Eagleton, turned out to have had a history of mental health problems. The McGovern-Shriver ticket lost to Republican candidates Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew.
Shriver sought the Democratic nomination for President in 1976. His candidacy was short and he returned to private life.6
He remains to date the most recent pro-life candidate to have been in a Democratic Party presidential ticket.
He has been associated with the Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson law firm in the Washington, D.C., where he specialized in international law and foreign affairs, since 1971.3 He retired as partner in 1986 and was named of counsel to the firm.7
In 1981, Shriver was appointed to the Rockefeller University Council, an organization devoted exclusively to research and graduate education in the biomedical and related sciences.
In 1984, he was elected President of Special Olympics by the Board of Directors; as President, he directed the operation and international development of sports programs around the world. Six years later, in 1990, he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Special Olympics.
Shriver has suffered from Alzheimer's disease for several years. His daughter, Maria, has published a children's book, What's Happening to Grandpa?, to help explain Alzheimer's to children. The book also gives kids suggestions on how to help and to show love to an elderly person with the disease. In July 2007, Shriver's son-in-law, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, speaking out in favor of stem-cell research, announced that Shriver's Alzheimer's disease had advanced to the point that he no longer recognizes many of those close to him.8
In 1993, Shriver received the Franklin D. Roosevelt Freedom From Want Award. On August 8, 1994, Shriver received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor, from President Bill Clinton.7
An elementary school located in Wheaton, Maryland is named after Shriver, called Sargent Shriver Elementary School.91011
In January 2008, a documentary film about Shriver aired on PBS, titled American Idealist: The Story of Sargent Shriver. [1]
United States presidential election, 1972
1976 Democratic presidential primaries12
| Government offices | ||
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| Preceded by none |
Director of the Peace Corps 1961–1966 |
Succeeded by Jack Vaughn |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by Charles E. Bohlen |
U.S. Ambassador to France 1968–1970 |
Succeeded by Arthur K. Watson |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Edmund Muskie (previous race), Thomas Eagleton (previous candidate)(1) |
Democratic Party Vice Presidential candidate 1972 (lost) |
Succeeded by Walter Mondale |
| Notes and references | ||
| 1. Eagleton was the original Vice Presidential nominee in 1972 but withdrew from the race and was replaced by Shriver. Muskie was the Vice Presidential nominee in 1968. | ||
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