Lucien Nedzi Explained

State:Michigan
District:14th
Predecessor:Harold M. Ryan
Successor:Dennis Hertel
State2:Michigan
District2:1st
Predecessor2:Thaddeus M. Machrowicz
Successor2:John Conyers
Term Start2:November 7, 1961
Term End2:January 3, 1965
Office3:Public Administrator of Wayne County, Michigan
Term Start3:January 1, 1955
Term End3:November 7, 1961[1]
Birth Name:Lucien Norbert Nedzi
Birth Date:28 May 1925
Birth Place:Hamtramck, Michigan, U.S.
Party:Democratic
Term Start:January 3, 1965
Term End:January 3, 1981
Education:University of Michigan (BA)
University of Detroit (JD)
Spouse:[2]
Children:5
Allegiance: United States
Branch:
United States Army Reserve
Serviceyears:1944–1946 (active)
1946–1953 (reserve)
Battles:World War II
Korean War

Lucien Norbert Nedzi (born May 28, 1925) is an American attorney and retired politician from Michigan. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1961 to 1981.

Early life and education

Nedzi was born to immigrants Aleksander Nedzi and Stephania (Wojszko) Nedzi in Hamtramck, Michigan, a town surrounded on all sides by Detroit. Nedzi is of Polish descent. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1943. In 1951, he earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. He was admitted to the Michigan bar in January 1952. He later graduated from the National War College and Naval War College.[3]

Military service

From 1944 to 1946, he served in the United States Army during World War II as an infantryman in the Philippines, and in the United States Army Corps of Engineers in Japan. From 1946 to 1953, he was in the active United States Army Reserve, during which time he served in the Korean War.

Politics

He served as the public administrator of Wayne County, Michigan, from 1955 to 1961.

Congress

Nedzi was elected as a U.S. representative from Michigan's 1st congressional district to the 87th United States Congress in a special election in 1961 to fill the vacancy left by resigning U.S. representative Thaddeus M. Machrowicz. He was re-elected in the 1962 election and two years later he was elected from the 14th district and every two years after that until he declined to seek re-election in the 1980 election. In all, he served from November 7, 1961, to January 3, 1981.

Nedzi chaired the House Select Committee on Intelligence, known as the Nedzi Committee, from February 1975 until he controversially resigned in June. The committee's work was continued by the Pike Committee.[4] In addition, Nedzi chaired the United States Congressional Joint Committee on the Library from 1973 to 1979 and the United States House Committee on House Administration from 1979 to 1981.

Personal life

Nedzi married the former Margaret Kathleen "Peggy" Garvey on January 28, 1952, in Laredo, Texas, after they met on a blind date during her dietetic internship at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Together, they had five children and nine grandchildren. For the rest of their marriage, they lived in McLean, Virginia.[5] Peggy Nedzi died on November 1, 2020[6] [7] at the age of 95 while recovering from an acute rheumatologic vasculitis earlier in the fall.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Hannan, Caryn. Michigan Biographical Dictionary: A-I. July 2, 1998. North American Book Dist LLC. 9780403098019. Google Books.
  2. Web site: Official congressional directory. 1979.. HathiTrust. 1809 .
  3. Web site: Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress - Retro Member details. 2021-01-21. bioguideretro.congress.gov.
  4. News: Lardner Jr.. George. 11 June 1975. House Supports Nedzi. Washington Post. Rockefeller Commission Item 11. 16 November 2013.
  5. Web site: Lucien Nedzi . 2024-08-08 . Spartacus Educational.
  6. News: Community deaths . 2 July 2021 . Washington Post.
  7. Web site: Margaret Kathleen Nedzi Obituary - 2020 - Direct Cremation Services of Virginia . 2024-04-19 . www.tributearchive.com.