William Milliken

William Milliken
44th Governor of Michigan
In office January 22, 1969 – January 1, 1983
Lieutenant	Thomas F. Schweigert (acting) James H. Brickley James Damman James H. Brickley
Preceded by	George W. Romney
Succeeded by	Jim Blanchard
Chair of the National Governors Association
In office September 9, 1977 – August 29, 1978
Preceded by	Reubin Askew
Succeeded by	Julian Carroll
54th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan
In office January 1, 1965 – January 22, 1969
Governor	George W. Romney
Preceded by	T. John Lesinski
Succeeded by	Thomas F. Schweigert (acting)
Member of the Michigan Senate from the 27th district
In office January 1, 1961 – December 31, 1964
Preceded by	John Minnema
Succeeded by	William Romano
Personal details
Born	William Grawn Milliken (1922-03-26)March 26, 1922 Traverse City, Michigan, U.S.
Died	October 18, 2019(2019-10-18) (aged 97) Traverse City, Michigan, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Helen Wallbank ​ ​ (m. 1945; died 2012)​
Children	2
Parent	James T. Milliken (father)
Relatives	James W. Milliken (grandfather)
Education	Yale University (BA)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1942–1945
Rank	Staff sergeant
Unit	United States Army Air Forces
Battles/wars	World War II

William Grawn Milliken (March 26, 1922 – October 18, 2019) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 44th governor of Michigan. A member of the Republican Party, he is the longest-serving governor in Michigan history, serving one partial term and three full four-year terms from 1969 to 1983.^[a] During this period he dealt with dramatic changes to the state economy, due to industrial restructuring and challenges to the auto industry, resulting in loss of jobs and population from Detroit, the state's largest city. He also oversaw the PBB crisis and adopted a policy of environmental protection and conservation.^[1][2]

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