Paul Coverdell

Paul Coverdell

"Born in Iowa, Coverdell moved to Georgia as a teenager, graduating from Northside High School when it was still a rural area. After graduation from the University of Missouri in 1961 (B.S., Journalism) he served in Okinawa, Taiwan, and Korea and returned to Atlanta in 1964, where he was a successful businessman. Politics had always held a special interest for Paul, so when the opportunity arose he ran for the state senate. He was one of the few Republicans in the government, however, many of the conservative Democrats shared his views.

"In 1978, while vacationing in Maine, he looked up the address of George Bush in a phone book, went to his home, knocked on the door and introduced himself when the future president answered. The two became close friends and throughout the next fourteen years Bush would turn to Coverdell for help on a number of occasions. It was Bush who appointed Coverdell to head the Peace Corps, giving him national recognition for his role as leader during the revitalization of this program.

"It was no surprise when he announced his candidacy for Senator in 1992, taking on incumbent Wyche Fowler and sending the Democrat to the same one-term anonymity that Fowler had done to Mack Mattingly (a friend of Coverdell's) just six years before. Ironically, his friend George Bush lost the presidency that same year."

• Former Director, Peace Corps
• Founder, Better Schools Foundation