Ed Madigan Explained

Ed Madigan
Office:24th United States Secretary of Agriculture
President:George H. W. Bush
Term Start:March 8, 1991
Term End:January 20, 1993
Predecessor:Clayton Yeutter
Successor:Mike Espy
Office1:House Republican Chief Deputy Whip
Leader1:Bob Michel
Term Start1:January 3, 1987
Term End1:January 3, 1989
Predecessor1:Tom Loeffler
Office2:Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois
Term Start2:January 3, 1973
Term End2:March 8, 1991
Predecessor2:William L. Springer (Redistricting)
Successor2:Thomas W. Ewing
Constituency2: (1973-1983)
(1983-1991)
Office3:Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
Term3:1967-1972
Birth Date:13 January 1936
Birth Place:Lincoln, Illinois, U.S.
Death Place:Springfield, Illinois, U.S.
Party:Republican
Children:3
Education:Lincoln College, Illinois

Edward Rell "Ed" Madigan (January 13, 1936 – December 7, 1994) was a businessman and a Republican Party politician from Lincoln, Illinois. He served almost twenty years in the United States House of Representatives and was U.S. secretary of agriculture under President George H. W. Bush.

Early life, education, and politics

Madigan was born in Lincoln on January 13, 1936. He attended Lincoln [Junior] College before starting his own taxicab business. He entered public service as a member of the Lincoln Board of Zoning Appeals from 1965 to 1969. During that time, he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives where he served from 1967 to 1973.[1]

U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture

In November, 1972, he was elected as a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives, and was subsequently elected to nine more terms. Madigan narrowly lost the race for minority whip in 1989 to future Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich of Georgia. Madigan served in Congress from 1973 to 1991, when Clayton Keith Yeutter resigned, and Madigan was appointed secretary of agriculture. Serving from 1991 to 1993, Madigan was the first Roman Catholic to serve as secretary of agriculture.[2]

Death and legacy

He died of complications from lung cancer on December 7, 1994, at St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Illinois, at the age of 58. He and his wife, Evelyn, had three daughters.

In 1995, Edward R. Madigan State Fish and Wildlife Area, a state park near Lincoln, was renamed in Madigan's honor. Edward Madigan came from a politically active family. His younger brother Robert Madigan served as the City Clerk for Lincoln, Illinois for several terms, then sat in the Illinois State Senate for 14 years and finally concluded his public service with a brief term on the Illinois Commerce Commission.

In 1984, Illinois native, and future congressman from Nebraska Don Bacon interned in Madigan's Washington, D.C., office.[3]

External links

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Notes and References

  1. 'Illinois Blue Book 1971-1972,' Biograpbical Sketch of Edward R. Madigan, pg. 268-269
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20060209004849/http://www.adherents.com/largecom/fam_catholic_politicians.html U.S. Catholic Politicians:
  3. Web site: Brigadier General Donald J. Bacon. live. 2021-10-02. United States Air Force. en-US. https://web.archive.org/web/20170923051044/http://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/108659/brigadier-general-donald-j-bacon/ . September 23, 2017 .