George Voinovich

Who is George Voinovich?

George Victor Voinovich is a retired United States Senator from the state of Ohio, serving from 1999 to 2011. Voinovich, a member of the Republican Party, previously served as the 65th Governor of Ohio from 1991 to 1998 and as the 54th Mayor of Cleveland from 1980 to 1989.

George Voinovich has served more than 46 years in public service – first as assistant attorney general of Ohio in 1963, and finally as the senior United States Senator representing Ohio. He is the 15th person to serve as both governor of Ohio and U.S. senator and one of only two people to be mayor of Cleveland, governor of Ohio and United States Senator; the other was Frank Lausche, who like Voinovich was Slovenian. George Voinovich has been elected to more public offices than any other Ohioan. He is the only person to have served as both chairman of the National Governors Association and president of the National League of Cities.

In his 2004 re-election to the U.S. Senate, Voinovich garnered more than 3.4 million votes, nearly 64 percent. No other candidate in Ohio’s recorded history has received as many votes as Senator Voinovich did in 2004.