Frank Murkowski

Frank Hughes Murkowski (born March 28, 1933) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States senator representing Alaska from 1981 to 2002 and as the eighth governor of Alaska from 2002 to 2006. Murkowski was the Republican nominee for Alaska's sole congressional district in 1970, but lost to his Democratic opponent Nick Begich. In 1980, he was elected to the United States Senate, and was reelected in 1986, 1992, and 1998. Murkowski ran for governor of Alaska in 2002 to replace Democratic incumbent Tony Knowles. He defeated Lieutenant Governor Fran Ulmer in the general election and took office on December 2, 2002. Murkowski resigned his U.S. Senate seat before taking office and appointed his daughter, Lisa Murkowski, to replace him. In his 2006 re-election bid, he finished in third place in the Republican primary behind Sarah Palin and John Binkley. He is the oldest living former Republican governor of any state.