BIOGRAPHY: WILLIAM CLINTON BORN: August 19, 1946, Hope AR MARTIAL STATUS: married (Hillary

BIOGRAPHY: WILLIAM CLINTON


BORN: August 19, 1946, Hope AR
MARTIAL STATUS: married (Hillary in 1975)    RELIGION: Baptist
EDUCATION: 
   Georgetown Univ, BS, FS 1968
   Rhodes Scholar, Oxford Univ., 1968-70
   Yale Univ., JD 1973

POLITICAL & GOV'T POSITIONS:
   1972 George McGovern campaign worker
   1974 Democratic Nominee for US House of Reps.
   1975 Chairman Housing Development Corp.
   1976-78 Arkansas Attorney General
   1978-80 Governor of Arkansas, lost in 1980
   1982-PR Governor of Arkansas, term expires Jan. 1995

   ELECTION RESULTS (GOVERNOR)  
   1990 General    Bill Clinton (D)       57%  
               Nelson Sheffield (R)       42%  
        Primary    Bill Clinton (D)       55%
                      Tom McRae (D)       39%

   1986 General    Bill Clinton (D)       64%
                    Frank White (R)       36%
        Primary    Bill Clinton (D)       61%
                Orval E. Faubus (D)       33%

   1984 General    Bill Clinton (D)       63%
                  Woody Freeman (R)       37%
        Primary    Bill Clinton (D)       64%
                  Connie Tucker (D)       24%

   1982 General    Bill Clinton (D)       55%
                 Frank D. White (R)       45%
        Runoff     Bill Clinton (D)       42%
                    Joe Purcell (D)       29%

   1980 General  Frank D. White (R)       52%
                   Bill Clinton (D)       48%

   1978 General    Bill Clinton (D)       63%
                   A. Lynn Lowe           37%
        Primary    Bill Clinton           60%
                   Joe Woodward           22%

NOTE: It appears from 1978-86, term for Gov was 2 years. From 
1986, the term was 4 years.

BUSINESS & PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS:
   1973-76 Professor of Law, Univ. of Ark. at Fayetteville
   1973-76 Attorney, private practice
   1981-82 Attorney, Wright, Lindsay & Jennings, Little Rock

HONORS & AWARDS:
   1988 Distinguished Service Award, Council of Chief State 
Officers

MEMBERSHIPS:
   National Governor's Association (Chairman 1987)
   Education Committee of States (Chairman 1987)
   National Association of Attorney Generals 

SUMMARY FROM THE 1992 ALMANAC OF AMERICAN POLITICS:  

   As a politician, Bill  Clinton has a lot going for him: brains, 
charm, sure political instincts, a  genuine interest in real-world 
problems. However, he has had problems  governing Arkansas. 
Education was Clinton's major focus and the one issue  where he 
spent the majority of his time. From the beginning, he knew that 
to ensure Arkansas of a higher wage economy, it must have a higher-
skill work  force.  Implementing this vision has not been easy for 
him. In 1983, he  pushed through a reform package in the state 
legislature that including  competency tests for new and working 
teachers, a teachers pay raise and a  sales tax increase to pay 
for it. Teachers' groups vigorously opposed the  tests, and the 
sales tax hike did not generate enough money for his programs. In 
1987 and 1988, the legislature turned down his tax package twice. 
In 1989, it passed his entire education package, except for the 
taxes, which meant  that teachers got raises of $1000 rather than 
$4000. The package included the following changes: choice 
provisions allowing parents to choose their  children's schools,  
even across district lines, provided there is not a  
segregationist effect; mandatory kindergarten and mandatory 
curriculums for  high schools; annual report cards for college 
faculty and schools; fines for  parents of chronic truants; 
revocation of driver's licenses of school dropouts; reenactment of 
consolidation incentives for Arkansas's 300-plus school  
districts; banning beepers in schools and strict penalizes for 
drug sales near schools. In January 1991, the legislature passed a 
half-cent sales tax  increase, which Clinton signed into law. 
These taxes were designed to raise  teacher salaries by $4000 over 
the next two years, in addition to funding  other educational 
programs.

   By the early 1990's, these reforms had not had their intended 
impact on education. Clinton's political opponents blamed him for 
low teacher pay, low test scores, neglecting the environment and 
raising taxes too much.  During the 1990 campaign, his Republican 
opponent Nelson Sheffield, campaigned that ten years of Clinton 
was enough. In order to disarm voters' suspicions  that he was too 
interested in national politics, Clinton promised not to run  for 
President in 1992. In refuting opponents arguments that he is 
stale,  he pointed to his latest ideas: new highways, 
apprenticeship programs and boot camps for nonviolent offenders. 
Clinton has shown that he is energetic and  innovative, but can 
his programs help Arkansas overcome its natural disadvantages and 
compete in across the country and globe.

   During all this turmoil, Clinton has remained a nationally 
significant  politician. He considered running for President in 
1988, but declined  saying  it would be unfair to his 7-year old 
daughter. He co-chaired the National  Governors' Conference task 
force on setting specific educational goals in connection of 
President Bush's 1989 Education Summit. In 1990, he became head  
of the moderate-leaning Democratic Leadership Conference.