George W. Romney, a former American Motors Corp. chairman who served as Michigan's governor and saw his presidential bid dashed by his remark that he had been brainwashed over Vietnam, died Wednesday. He was 88.
Romney, who also held leadership positions in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died at his home. The Oakland County medical examiner's office pronounced him dead of natural causes at 9:40 a.m.William Milliken, who succeeded Romney as governor, told WWJ radio Romney "was one of the finest public servants this state has ever known."
"I admired and respected him," Milliken said.
The dean of Republican politics in Michigan, Romney ran for the 1968 Republican presidential nomination but dropped out two weeks before the New Hampshire primary.
His campaign was dogged by his comment in a September 1967 tele-vision interview that he originally had supported the Vietnam War because he was brainwashed by the military during a tour of the country. But he said other factors scotched his candidacy.
President Nixon later named Romney to be secretary of Housing and Urban Development, a post he held from 1969 to 1972, when he resigned to return to the private sector.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said he was surprised by Romney's death because Romney had visited Hatch just two days ago to make suggestions on how to improve the National Service Act and the National Service Foundation.
"He was a great friend," Hatch said. "George Romney throughout his life was a church, government, charitable and family leader of great integrity, vigor, ability and character.
"I feel highly privileged to have been his friend. I will miss him greatly," Hatch said.
Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, said, "I was always impressed by his insights, his vigor and his boundless energy and have enjoyed a continued association with him through the years."
He added, "His efforts in seeking to improve the human condition, and his significant con-tributions in the promotion of voluntarism will continue to be felt throughout our state and our nation for many years to come."
In 1994, Romney's son Mitt, a Massachusetts businessman, waged a tough but ultimately unsuccessful challenge to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's bid for re-election.
Romney's political rise began in 1962 when he defeated incumbent John B. Swainson to break a 14-year Democratic hold on Michigan's governorship. He was re-elected in 1964 and then elected in 1966 to a four-year term and served until resigning to join the Nixon Cabinet.
After leaving politics, Romney devoted his time to promoting vol-untarism. He continued to endorse Republican candidates but often complained that candidates no longer discussed issues for fear of offending voters.
"You can't be right too soon and win elections," he said in a 1989 interview with The Associated Press.
"We no longer have a republic. We have a special-interest pork-barrel democracy, and we haven't adjusted our institutions to that fact."
Romney, a college dropout, combined a successful business career with his public service record.
In 1948 he joined Nash-Kelvinator Corp., the forerunner of American Motors Corp., and oversaw the marketing of the first successful compact economy car on the U.S. market - the Rambler.
"We forced the Big Three into small car production," he said.
Romney became chairman and president of AMC in 1954 but resigned in 1962 to run for governor. (AMC was purchased by Chrysler Corp. in August 1987.)
George Wilken Romney was born July 8, 1907, in Colonia Dublan, Chihuahua, Mexico, where his parents had moved with other members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
He grew up in Idaho and Salt Lake City, where he met his future wife, Lenore, while in high school. They were married in 1931.
Romney attended four colleges but never graduated. He spent two years as a LDS missionary in England and Scotland.
Romney was a patriarch in the Bloomfield Hills Michigan Stake. He was called in June 1974 as a regional representative and served in that calling for several years, serving regions in Little Rock, Ark.; St. Louis; Chicago; Pittsburgh and in Michigan.
He had also been president of the Detroit stake.
His first exposure to politics was in 1929 as an aide to Sen. David I. Walsh of Massachusetts in Washington.
After that were stints at ALCOA and the Aluminum Wares Association.
His first job in Detroit came in 1939 when he was local manager of the Automobile Manufacturers Association. He served as that group's general manager from 1942 to 1948, when he joined Nash-Kelvinator.
In 1959 he created Citizens for Michigan, a group that later spearheaded the drive for a convention to rewrite the state's constitution because of a deadlock between the governor and Legislature.
In 1961, he ran successfully as a delegate to the convention that wrote Michigan's current constitution and used that as a springboard to the governorship.
Buoyed by his success in Michigan, Romney announced on Nov. 18, 1967, that he was running for the GOP presidential nomination, saying "the richest nation in the world is in a fiscal mess."
Romney later said the "brainwashing" comment that many believe scotched his campaign was aimed at showing that U.S. officials were misrepresenting events in southeast Asia to garner support for the war.
In a 1989 interview, he said he never regretted his about-face on Vietnam and denied his brainwashing comment forced him from the race.
"It wasn't because of my position on Vietnam or anything I said about Vietnam," he said.
"It was because (New York Gov. Nelson) Rockefeller became a candidate, and there was no way I could get the nomination fighting both Rockefeller and Nixon."
Romney and his wife had four children.
Even in his 80s, Romney still pursued a vigorous exercise routine he had adopted years before fitness became a mania.
He walked eight miles a day and in summer played a daily round of golf at nearby Bloomfield Hills Country Club. He devised what he called a "compact 18" holes in which he teed up three balls for each of six holes.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
LDS Church leaders pay tribute to Romney
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has issued the following statement concerning the death of George Romney:
"George Romney epitomized all that is good in business, church, family and public service. After a successful business career in which he headed a major corporation, he served with dignity as the governor of Michigan, as a presidential candidate and as a member of the presidential Cabinet. He later worked tirelessly in an effort to promote voluntarism for the public good. As a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints he served in a variety of leadership and other callings where he was able to be of service to both the church and its members. Although he lived a long and full life, he will be missed by his family, friends and associates. We wish Mrs. Romney and the family well, knowing they will always have fond memories of a devoted husband, father and grandfather who made positive contributions in all facets of his life."
The First Presidency consists of President Gordon B. Hinckley and his counselors, President Thomas S. Monson and President James E. Faust.