Dick Celeste
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Richard Frank "Dick" Celeste (born November 11, 1937, in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American Democratic politician from Ohio. Celeste earned a Rhodes Scholarship before entering public service.
In 1959, Celeste was graduated magna cum laude from Yale University (New Haven, Conn.). He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Celeste then received a Rhodes Scholarship to attend Oxford University (Oxford, England). There he met Dagmar Ingrid Braun, whom he married in Austria in 1962.
After returning to the United States, Celeste served as staff liaison office in the Peace Corps and as special assistant to Chester Bowles, then U.S. ambassador to India.
Celeste was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1970, and was subsequently elected lieutenant governor in 1974 (defeating Republican John W. Brown, serving under the Republican James A. Rhodes--at the time, Ohio's lieutenant governor was elected separately from the governor, so the victors could be of different parties). In 1978, Celeste ran for governor, but lost to incumbent Rhodes.
President Carter appointed Celeste Director of the Peace Corps from 1979 to 1981.
In 1982 Celeste defeated Republican nominee Clarence J. "Bud" Brown Jr. and became governor of Ohio. Rhodes could not run in 1982 since Ohio law barred him from seeking a third consecutive term. In 1986, Rhodes returned to contest the governorship, but this time Celeste, now the incumbent, won. Celeste served as governor of Ohio from 1983 to 1991.
Celeste then established the consulting firm Celeste & Sabety Ltd. (Columbus, Ohio)
President Clinton appointed Celeste ambassador to India, a position he served in from 1997 to 2001.
Celeste remained a controversial figure in Ohio politics for years after terms as governor due to his last-minute issuance of commutations for eight prisoners sentenced to death in Ohio to life in prison.
Celeste's brother, Theodore S. Celeste, unsuccessfully ran as a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate from Ohio in 2000.
Celeste had six children (now grown) with his first wife, Dagmar. The couple was divorced in 1995. Celeste is currently married to Jacqueline Lundquist. Celeste and Lundquist have one child.
Celeste was inaugurated as the 12th President of Colorado College in 2002.
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| Preceded by: James A. Rhodes | Governor of Ohio 1983-1991 | Succeeded by: George Voinovich |
| Preceded by: John W. Brown | Lieutenant Governor of Ohio 1975-1979 | Succeeded by: George Voinovich |