Thomas Kean
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Thomas Howard Kean (born April 21, 1935 in New York City) was the Republican Governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990.
In December 2002, Kean was appointed by President George W. Bush to lead the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, a high-profile independent commission charged with investigating the September 11 Terrorist Attacks. The commission is widely considered the most important independent government commission since the Warren Commission.
On April 4, 2004, Kean stated that the September 11 attacks could have been prevented had the United States government acted sooner to dismantle al-Qaeda and responded more quickly to other terrorist threats. The statement was reflected in greater detail in the commission's July 22, 2004 final report, which concluded that the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation had ill-served the American people in failing to predict or prevent the September 11 attacks.
Born to a long line of New Jersey politicians, Kean was educated at the elite St. Albans School and then at two Ivy League universities, Princeton and Columbia Universities. Originally a teacher of history and government, he was elected, in 1967, as a Republican Assemblyman to the New Jersey State Legislature. He served as the New Jersey House Speaker in 1972, and became the minority leader in 1974. In 1973, he briefly served as acting New Jersey Governor. He ran successfully for governor in 1981, and served two terms. In 1985, Kean won reelection with the largest margin of victory in the history of New Jersey gubernatorial races. In 1988, reflecting his stature as one of the country's leading Republicans, Kean delivered the keynote speech at the 1988 Republican National Convention.
Kean was known for attracting a number of bright, rising stars with deep public policy expertise. Indeed, current New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Doug Forrester, New Jersey congressman Bob Franks, and other leading New Jersey and national Republican figures began their political and public policy careers in his administration.
After leaving office, Kean became the president of Drew University, where he maintained an active national role in numerous public policy issues, including education, low-income housing and foreign policy. While there, Kean became an advisor to and was inducted into Alpha Phi Omega. Kean has announced that he will resign his position at Drew at the end of the 2004-2005 year.
Kean is the author of The Politics of Inclusion, published in 1988 by Free Press.
He has a wife, Deborah, a daughter, Alexandra, and twin sons, Tom and Reed. They live in Bedminster, New Jersey. Kean's son, Tom, Jr., is a New Jersey State Senator, representing New Jersey's 21st district.
| Preceded by: Brendan Byrne | Governor of New Jersey 1982–1990 | Succeeded by: James Florio |