Adlai Stevenson II

Adlai Stevenson II
Portrait, 1961
5th United States Ambassador to the United Nations
In office January 23, 1961 – July 14, 1965
President	John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded by	James Jeremiah Wadsworth
Succeeded by	Arthur Goldberg
31st Governor of Illinois
In office January 10, 1949 – January 12, 1953
Lieutenant	Sherwood Dixon
Preceded by	Dwight H. Green
Succeeded by	William Stratton
Personal details
Born	Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (1900-02-05)February 5, 1900 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	July 14, 1965(1965-07-14) (aged 65) London, England
Resting place	Evergreen Cemetery
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Ellen Borden ​ ​ (m. 1928; div. 1949)​
Children	3, including Adlai III
Parent	Lewis Stevenson (father)
Relatives	Stevenson family
Education	Princeton University (BA) Northwestern University (JD)
Signature
Military service
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1918
Rank	Seaman second class

Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (/ˈædleɪ/; February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) was an American politician and diplomat and who was the United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 1961 until his death in 1965. He previously served as the 31st governor of Illinois from 1949 to 1953 and was the Democratic nominee for president of the United States in 1952 and 1956, losing both elections to Dwight D. Eisenhower in landslides. Stevenson was the grandson of Adlai Stevenson, the 23rd vice president of the United States. He was raised in Bloomington, Illinois and was a member of the Democratic Party.^[1] He served in many positions in the federal government during the 1930s and 1940s, including the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, Federal Alcohol Administration, Department of the Navy, and the State Department. In 1945, he served on the committee that created the United Nations, and was a member of the initial U.S. delegations to the UN.

In 1948, he was elected governor of Illinois, defeating incumbent governor Dwight H. Green in an upset. As governor, Stevenson reformed the state police, cracked down on illegal gambling, improved the state highways, and attempted to cleanse the state government of corruption. Stevenson also sought, with mixed success, to reform the Illinois state constitution and introduced several crime bills in the state legislature.

In the 1952 and 1956 presidential elections, he was chosen as the Democratic nominee for president, but was defeated in a landslide by Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower both times. In 1960, he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination for a third time at the Democratic National Convention. After President John F. Kennedy was elected, he appointed Stevenson as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. Two major events Stevenson dealt with during his time as UN ambassador were the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba in April 1961 and the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. He was still serving as UN ambassador when he suffered a heart attack during a visit to London on July 14, 1965, dying later that day at the age of 65. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in his hometown of Bloomington, Illinois.