John Warner, longtime Virginia senator and ex-husband of Elizabeth Taylor, dies at 94
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Former Virginia Sen. John W. Warner, a centrist Republican who served as Navy Secretary and one of the Senate's most influential military experts, died at the age of 94, his longtime Chief Off staff said on Wednesday.
Warner died Tuesday at his home in Alexandria, Virginia, along with his wife and daughter, Susan A. Magill.
"He was weak, but had great passion and was involved until his last days," Magill said.
Warner, a courtesan who included celebrities and married Elizabeth Taylor when he was elected to the Senate in 1978, served five terms before retiring from the Chamber in 2008. He drew support from moderates of both major parties. Himself at the center of American politics.
He was a prominent supporter of President George W. Bush for the declaration of war in Iraq, and served as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee for some time. He had an independent streak that sometimes offended more conservative GOP leaders. But he was extremely popular among Virginia voters.
Being the sixth of Taylor's seven husbands, he felt no sadness when he ran for the Senate. The two were married in 1976 and divorced in 1982. Taylor later wrote that they remained friends, but she "could not tolerate extreme loneliness" when she was engrossed in her duties to the Senate.
He was succeeded in 2008 by Democrat Mark Warner - no relation - who challenged him to the Senate in 1996 and went on to serve a term as Governor of Virginia. After years of rivalry, the two became good friends. Mark Warner said that he "describes what it means to be a senator."
"In Virginia, we expect a lot of our elected officials. We expect them to lead, yet remain humble. We expect them to serve, but with respect. We expect them to Will fight for what we believe in, but without making it personal. John Warner was the embodiment of all that and more. I strongly believe that we can use more role models like him today, "Mark Warner Said on Wednesday.
Warner had the support of moderates in both parties. Chisel features and a thick stroke of brown hair were so popular with Virginia voters that Democrats did not bother to challenge him for re-election for his fifth term in 2002.
Warner said in 1996, "Virginians know that I stand for what I think, & I accept the consequences."
"Virginia has lost an unmatched leader, & my family has lost a dear friend," said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. "Once I came to the Senate, I understood the influence of John Warner even more deeply. I came to know John McCain, Carl Levine, & many others who served with him & his integrity in a body & Certified the outside influence. So dear. "
Warner was an early supporter of McCain's campaign for the presidency, supporting his fellow senator in February 2007.
A major supporter of the american army
A former Secretary of the Navy, World War II and a veteran of Korea, Warner devoted much of his career to military affairs. He lost his post as chairman of the Armed Services Committee in 2001, when Sen. Jim Jeffords' departure from the GOP put Democrats in control of the Senate, but regained it after the 2002 elections, until That Republicans were again put in charge until the 2006 elections.
Warner often defended the Bush administration's handling of the war in Iraq, but he also showed a desire to bring down the White House.
After his 2007 trip to Iraq, Warner asked Bush to bring the troops home. He called top Pentagon officials to hear about the Abu Ghraib prison misconduct scandal & the Iraq war. Years ago, he cast an important vote in the US Supreme Court, rejecting President Robert's candidate, a favorite of conservatives, Judge Robert Bork.
In 2005, Warner was part of a "gang of 14" - a group of centrist senators who deferred a showdown on judicial filibusters over Bush's appeals court nominees. In the same year, Warner was the only senator who formally objected to the federal government's move in the matter of Terry Schiavo's right to die.
He said at the time, "There is not always much knowledge in the branches of the federal government." Hours after the bill was passed by voice, he quietly put his statement in the Congress record.
Sometimes uncomfortable relationship with Republicans
Republicans nominated Warner for the Senate in 1978, after the party's 1st choice, Richard Obenshain, died in a plane crash. Warner was ridiculed by some who thought he was riding on his then-wife, Taylor's coat, whom he married in late 1976.
Warner was elected from a 1.2 million cast with a slight margin of 4,721 votes and was easily re-elected in 1984 and 1990.
In 1994, Warner won Democratic Sen. Charles S. Opposing GOP nominee Oliver North's bid to overthrow Rob, angered conservatives. Warner disqualified Iran-Contra figures for public office & independent J.K. Endorsed Marshall Coleman, who garnered enough independent & liberal GOP votes to ensure Rob's re-election.
Viewed as infidelity to the party, GOP conservatives tried to deny him a fourth term in 1996, backed by a challenge by former Reagan administration budget director Jim Miller.
Miller portrayed Warner as an aristocratic class who spent a lot of time dodging stars including Barbara Walters. But Warner easily defeated Miller in the primary, & defeated Democrat Mark Warner in the general election.
John Warner rectified his strained relationship with the GOP by supporting the successful campaigns of Jim Gilmore for governor in 1997 and George Allen for Robb's Senate seat in 2000.
In 1994, Warner stated, "I have certainly put my political future at risk, it is sure." But I would like the voters of this state to remember that I stood on my principle. ... This is the price of leadership.
While the military was Warner's top priority, he also supported legislation to tighten seat belt laws and raised a growing number of environmental causes.
Born on February 18, 1927 in Washington, DC, Warner volunteered for the Navy at the age of 17 and worked as a third-grade electronics technician. He received an engineering degree in 1949 from the University of Washington and Lee.
He entered law school at the University of Virginia in the fall of 1949, but volunteered for the Marines the following year, serving as First Lieutenant and Communications Officer in Korea with the First Marine Air Wing.
After Korea, he returned to law school and received a degree from U.Va. In 1953.
He was a law clerk in the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, went into private practice, and then served four years as a federal prosecutor.
In 1960, he resumed private practice and specialized in banking, securities and corporate practice. He became Under Secretary of the Navy in 1969 and served as Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974. He was the Administrator of the American Revolution Biennial Administration from 1974 to 1976.
Warner received an estimated $ 7 million fortune from the millionaire Paul Mellon's daughter, Katherine Mellon, in the breakdown of her first marriage.
He and Taylor divorced in 1982 and married real estate agent Jean Vander Mayday in 2003.
Warner had three children, Mary, Virginia and John, and members of the Episcopal Church.
Dena Potter, a former employee of the Associated Press, was the lead author of this obituary.