George Mitchell Fast Facts

Here is a look at the life of George Mitchell, former US senator (D-Maine).

Personal: Birth date: August 20, 1933

Birth place: Waterville, Maine

Birth name: George John Mitchell

Father: George Mitchell, a janitor

Mother: Mary (Saad) Mitchell

Marriages: Heather MacLachlan (December, 1994-present); Sally L. Heath (1959-1987, divorced)

Children: with Heather MacLachlan: Andrew (1997); Claire (2001); with Sally L. Heath: Andrea (c. 1965)

Education: Bowdoin College, B.A., 1954; Georgetown University, L.L.B, 1960

Military Service: United States Army Counter Intelligence Corps, 1954-1956

Other Facts: Has been a board member of several major companies, including Walt Disney Company, Xerox, and FedEx.

His mother emigrated to the US from Lebanon when she was 18.

Timeline: 1960-1962 - Trial lawyer in the US Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, in Washington.

1962-1965 - Executive assistant to Senator Edmund S. Muskie of Maine.

1965-1977 - Private practice lawyer in Portland, Maine.

1974 - Runs unsuccessfully for governor of Maine.

1977-1979 - US Attorney for the District of Maine - appointed by President Jimmy Carter.

1979-1980 - US District Court Judge for the District of Maine.

1980 - Is appointed to complete the unexpired term of Senator Muskie who had resigned to become secretary of state. Mitchell is sworn in on May 19, 1980.

1982 - Runs for and wins a US Senate seat in Maine.

1988 - Is re-elected with 81% of the vote. He does not run in 1994.

1989-1994 - Senate Majority Leader.

1989-1995 - Serves as co-chair of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee with Tom Daschle of South Dakota (1989-99) and Harry Reid of Nevada (1995-99).

1994 - Declines an offer from President Bill Clinton to nominate Mitchell for a seat on the US Supreme Court.

1995 - President Clinton appoints Mitchell as special adviser and United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland.

1995 - The Mitchell Scholarship Program is named in honor of the former senator. Scholars are US citizens between the age of 18 and 30 who spend a year studying in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The first class commences in 2000.

1995-2003 - Special counsel at Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand.

1996-2000 - Independent Chairman of the Northern Ireland Peace Talks.

1998 - Receives an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for his leadership role in negotiations between Northern Ireland and Ireland that resulted in the Good Friday Peace Agreement.

1999 - Establishes the George Mitchell Institute to lend support to the Mitchell Scholarship Program.

March 17, 1999 - Is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

April 1999 - Is awarded the UNESCO Peace Prize.

2000 and 2001 - Chairman of an International Fact-Finding Committee on Violence in the Middle East.

March 3, 2004-December 31, 2006 - Chairman of the Walt Disney Company board of directors.

2005-2009 - Chairman of the global board of international law firm DLA Piper. Remains a partner.

March 30, 2006 - Is appointed by baseball commissioner Bud Selig to investigate alleged steroid use by major league baseball players.

December 13, 2007 - The Mitchell Report on steroids is released.

January 22, 2009-May 19, 2011 - Special envoy to the Middle East, named by President Barack Obama. Mitchell officially resigns on May 13th before the Obama administration's Mideast policy is announced on May 19.

August 1, 2012 - The NCAA selects Mitchell as the independent athletics integrity monitor at Penn State, effective immediately for a five-year appointment.

May 31, 2013 - In its most recent Mitchell Report, George Mitchell recognizes Penn State for the improvements it has exhibited towards the "athletics integrity agreement."

June 2014 - Mitchell joins Teneo, a global consulting firm, as a senior adviser.

May 2015 - His memoir, "The Negotiator: Reflections on an American Life," is released.