Alexander, Andrew Lamar, Jr.,
American politician, b. Maryville, Tn., Vanderbilt Univ. (B.A., 1962); New York Univ. (J.D.,
1965). The son of educators, Alexander studied at Vanderbilt Univ. where he edited the school
newspaper, pushing for the admission of African-Americans at the school. Following his law
degree, he clerked for Judge John Minor Wisdom of the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit for a year, and then served as a staffer for Senator HowardBaker and on President Richard Nixon ’s staff. In 1970, he oversaw the winning election of Winfield Dunn
as Tennessee’s first Republican governor in 50 years. He then went into private legal
practice before unsuccessfully running for governor himself in 1974; four years later, he was
elected governor, serving for two terms. He was the Chair of the National Governors
Association from 1985-86. Alexander was known for advocating educational reforms in his state,
and subsequently served as president of the Univ. of Tennessee (1988-1991) and US Secretary of
Education (1991-1993) under George H.W. Bush. Alexander was elected to the US
Senate in 2002, serving until his retirement in 2020, including stints as the Republican
party’s Conference Chair in 2007-12 and the Chair of the Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions Committee (2015-21). Alexander twice ran unsuccessfully to be the Republican
candidate for President in 1996 and 2000.
See his autobiography (1995); study by K. Hunt (2017).
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