Jump to content

Bill Weld

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bill Weld
68th Governor of Massachusetts
In office
January 3, 1991 – July 29, 1997
LieutenantPaul Cellucci
Preceded byMichael Dukakis
Succeeded byPaul Cellucci
United States Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division
In office
1986–1988
PresidentRonald Reagan
Preceded byStephen Trott
Succeeded byEdward Dennis
United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts
In office
1981–1986
PresidentRonald Reagan
Preceded byEdward Harrington
Succeeded byRobert Mueller (Acting)
Personal details
Born
William Floyd Weld

(1945-07-31) July 31, 1945 (age 79)
Smithtown, New York, U.S.
Political partyRepublican (before 2016, 2019–present)
Other political
affiliations
Libertarian (2016–2019)
Spouse(s)
(m. 1975; div. 2002)

(m. 2003)
Children5
RelativesWeld family
EducationHarvard University (BA, JD)
University College, Oxford
Signature

William Floyd Weld (born July 31, 1945) is an American attorney, businessman and Republican politician.

He was the 68th Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997. Bill Clinton named him to be Ambassador to Mexico in 1998, but he was not approved by the Senate. He was the Libertarian vice presidential nominee in the 2016 election.

In April 2019, Weld announced his candidacy for President of the United States in a primary challenge against President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

Failed ambassadorship nomination

[change | change source]

He resigned as governor in 1997 to focus on his nomination by President Bill Clinton for United States Ambassador to Mexico, but because of opposition by the social conservatives such as Senator Jesse Helms, he was denied a hearing and withdrew his nomination.

2016 vice presidential campaign

[change | change source]

In May 2016, former New Mexico Governor and Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson named Weld as his running mate and he became the vice presidential nominee for the 2016 election.[1] They were later both formally nominated at the Libertarian National Convention.

2020 presidential campaign

[change | change source]

In January 2019, Weld expressed interest in running for President of the United States as a Republican, challenging President Donald Trump in the primaries, in the 2020 election.[2][3] In February 2019, Weld rejoined the Republican Party.[4] He launched an exploratory committee for a possible 2020 bid.[5]

On April 15, 2019 Weld officially announced he would be running for President, challenging incumbent Donald Trump.[6]

References

[change | change source]
  1. Peoples, Steve. "Libertarian Gary Johnson secures running mate". Bigstory.ap.org. Archived from the original on April 12, 2017. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  2. Welch, Matt (May 2, 2018). "Bill Weld Lays Groundwork for 2020 Libertarian Presidential Run". Reason (magazine). Los Angeles. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  3. "Former Mass. Gov. William Weld to announce possible run for president". WCVB-TV. Boston. January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  4. Jonas, Michael (2019-02-04). "Weld rejoins Republican ranks". CommonWealth Magazine. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  5. Landrigan, Kevin (February 14, 2019). "Weld forms 2020 exploratory committee, defends GOP credentials". New Hampshire Union Leader. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  6. Brusk, Steve (15 April 2019). "Bill Weld officially announces he is challenging Trump for GOP nomination in 2020". CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Retrieved 15 April 2019.

Other websites

[change | change source]

Media related to William Weld at Wikimedia Commons