Jack Kemp

Jack Kemp
Official portrait, c. 1989–1993
9th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
In office February 13, 1989 – January 20, 1993
President	George H. W. Bush
Deputy	Alfred A. DelliBovi Frank Keating
Preceded by	Samuel Pierce
Succeeded by	Henry Cisneros
Chair of the House Republican Conference
In office January 3, 1981 – June 4, 1987
Leader	Robert H. Michel
Preceded by	Samuel L. Devine
Succeeded by	Dick Cheney
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York
In office January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1989
Preceded by	Richard D. McCarthy
Succeeded by	Bill Paxon
Constituency	39th district (1971–1973) 38th district (1973–1983) 31st district (1983–1989)
Personal details
Born	Jack French Kemp (1935-07-13)July 13, 1935 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	May 2, 2009(2009-05-02) (aged 73) Bethesda, Maryland, U.S
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Joanne Main ​ (m. 1958)​
Children	4, including Jeff and Jimmy
Education	Occidental College (BA)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1958–1962
Rank	Private
Unit	U.S. Army Reserve
American football player American football career
Kemp in 1961
No. 18, 15
Position:	Quarterback
Personal information
Height:	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:	210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school:	Fairfax (Los Angeles, California)
College:	Occidental
NFL draft:	1957 / round: 17 / pick: 203
Career history
Detroit Lions (1957)* Pittsburgh Steelers (1957) San Francisco 49ers (1958)* New York Giants (1958)* Calgary Stampeders (1959) Los Angeles / San Diego Chargers (1960–1962) Buffalo Bills (1962–1969)
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
2× AFL champion (1964, 1965) 2× AFL championship MVP (1964, 1965) AFL Most Valuable Player (1965) 5× First-team All-AFL (1960, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1966) 7× AFL All-Star (1961–1966, 1969) NFF Distinguished American Award (1982) Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame Buffalo Bills Silver Anniversary Team
Career AFL/NFL statistics
Passing attempts: 3,073 Passing completions: 1,436 Completion percentage: 46.7% TD–INT: 114–183 Passing yards: 21,218 Passer rating: 57.3 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Jack French Kemp (July 13, 1935 – May 2, 2009) was an American politician and professional football player. A member of the Republican Party from New York, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, having previously served nine terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1989. He was the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee in the 1996 election, as the running mate of Bob Dole; they lost to incumbent president Bill Clinton and vice president Al Gore. Kemp had previously contended for the presidential nomination in the 1988 Republican primaries.

Before entering politics, Kemp played as a quarterback for 13 years. He played briefly in the National Football League (NFL) and the Canadian Football League (CFL), but became a star in the American Football League (AFL). He served as a captain of both the San Diego Chargers and the Buffalo Bills, earning the AFL Most Valuable Player award in 1965 after leading the Bills to a second consecutive championship. He played in the AFL for all 10 years of its existence, appeared in its All-Star game seven times, played in its championship game five times, and set many of the league's career passing records. Kemp also co-founded the AFL Players Association, for which he served five terms as president. During the early part of his football career, he served in the United States Army Reserve.

As an economic conservative, Kemp advocated low taxes and supply-side policies during his political career. His positions spanned the social spectrum, ranging from his conservative opposition to abortion to his more libertarian stances advocating immigration reform. As a proponent of both Chicago school and supply-side economics, he is notable as an influence upon the Reagan agenda and the architect of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, which is known as the Kemp–Roth tax cut.

After his days in political office, Kemp remained active as a political advocate and commentator; he served on corporate and nonprofit organization boards. He also authored, co-authored, and edited several books. He promoted American football and advocated for retired professional football players. Kemp was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 by President Barack Obama.^[1]