Sargent Shriver

Sargent Shriver
Shriver in 1961
United States Ambassador to France
In office May 25, 1968 – March 25, 1970
President	Lyndon B. Johnson Richard Nixon
Preceded by	Charles E. Bohlen
Succeeded by	Arthur K. Watson
Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity
In office October 16, 1964 – March 23, 1968
President	Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Bertrand Harding
1st Director of the Peace Corps
In office March 22, 1961 – February 28, 1966
President	John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Jack Vaughn
President of the Chicago Board of Education
In office October 26, 1955 – October 10, 1960
Preceded by	William B. Traynor
Succeeded by	Thomas L. Marshall
Personal details
Born	Robert Sargent Shriver Jr. (1915-11-09)November 9, 1915 Westminster, Maryland, U.S.
Died	January 18, 2011(2011-01-18) (aged 95) Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Eunice Kennedy ​ ​ (m. 1953; died 2009)​
Children	Bobby Maria Timothy Mark Anthony
Relatives	Kennedy family David Shriver
Education	Yale University (BA, LLB)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1941–1945
Rank	Lieutenant Commander
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Purple Heart American Campaign Medal Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal World War II Victory Medal[1]

Robert Sargent Shriver Jr. (November 9, 1915 – January 18, 2011) was an American diplomat, politician, and activist. As the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was part of the Kennedy family. Shriver was the driving force behind the creation of the Peace Corps, and founded the Job Corps, Head Start, VISTA, Upward Bound,^[2] and other programs as the architect of the 1960s War on Poverty.^[3] He was the Democratic Party's nominee for vice president in the 1972 presidential election.

Born in Westminster, Maryland, Shriver attended Yale University, then Yale Law School, graduating in 1941.^[2] An opponent of U.S. entry into World War II, he helped establish the America First Committee but volunteered for the United States Navy before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. During the war, he served in the South Pacific, participating in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. After being discharged from the navy, he worked as an assistant editor for Newsweek and met Eunice Kennedy, marrying her in 1953.

He worked on the 1960 presidential campaign of his brother-in-law, John F. Kennedy, and helped establish the Peace Corps after Kennedy's victory. After Kennedy's assassination, Shriver served in the administration of Lyndon B. Johnson and helped establish several anti-poverty programs as director of the Office of Economic Opportunity from October 16, 1964, to March 22, 1968.^[4] He also served as the United States Ambassador to France from 1968 to 1970.^[2] In 1972, Democratic vice presidential nominee Thomas Eagleton resigned from the ticket, and Shriver was chosen as his replacement. The Democratic ticket of George McGovern and Shriver lost in a landslide election defeat to Republican President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew. Shriver briefly sought the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination but dropped out of the race after the first set of primaries.

After leaving office, he resumed the practice of law, becoming a partner with Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. He also served as president of the Special Olympics and was briefly a part-owner of the Baltimore Orioles. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2003 and died in Bethesda, Maryland, in 2011.^[2]