Neil Edward Goldschmidt (1940 - 2024)

Born 16 Jun 1940 in Eugene, Lane, Oregon, United States

Ancestors

Died 12 Jun 2024 at age 83 in Portland, Multnomah, Oregon, United States

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Preceded by 5th Secretary Brock Adams Preceded by 32nd Governor Victor G. Atiyeh

Neil Goldschmidt 6th United States Secretary of Transportation 1979—1981 33rd Governor of Oregon 1987—1991

Succeeded by 7th Secretary Andrew L. Lewis, Jr. Succeeded by 34th Governor Barbara Roberts

Biography

Neil Goldschmidt was an American lawyer and Democratic politician.

Neil Edward Goldschmidt was born on 16 June 1940 in Eugene, Lane County, Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA into a Jewish family, the son of Annette E. (Levin) and Lester Harold Goldschmidt.

Neil Goldschmidt first married about 1965 to Margaret Wood. They had 2 children and divorced about 1990.

In 1967 he earned a Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley.

From 1967 to 1970, he worked as a legal aid lawyer in Portland, Oregon, USA.

He was an American businessman and Democratic politician from the state of Oregon who held local, state, and federal offices over three decades.

In 1970 he was elected to the Portland City Council.

From 1973 to 1979 he served as the 45th Mayor of Portland, Oregon, USA and was the youngest mayor of any major American city.

From 1979 to 1981 he served as the 6th USA Secretary of Transportation under President Jimmy Carter.

In the 1980s he served as a senior executive with Nike.

From 1987 to 1991 he served a single term as the 33rd Governor of Oregon. Afterward he became an influential and controversial lobbyist.

Neil Goldschmidt ​married secondly about 1994 to​ Diana Snowden and they had 2 children.

At one time he was considered the most powerful and influential figure in Oregon's politics. His career and legacy were severely damaged in 2004 by revelations that he had repeatedly sexually assaulted the teenage daughter of one of his aids during his first term as mayor of Portland.

He died from heart failure on 12 June 2024 at his home in Portland, Oregon, USA, four days short of his 84th birthday.

Sources

• 1950 USA Census of Eugene, Lane County, Oregon; Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 62308 #24328385 citing roll#809; ed#20-74; p8;

• Wikidata: Item Q373606, en:Wikipedia for Neil Goldschmidt (American lawyer and politician)