Michael Joseph Egan, Jr. (August 8, 1926 – January 7, 2016) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the

Georgia General Assembly The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directly ...

and as the first

United States associate attorney general The associate attorney general of the United States is the third-highest-ranking official in the U.S. Department of Justice. The associate attorney general advises and assists the attorney general and the deputy attorney general in policies rela ...

Early life and education

Egan was born to Elise (Robider) and Michael Joseph Egan on August 8, 1926, in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

. The grandson of an Irish immigrant, the Egans had resided in Savannah for generations. Egan attended elementary school taught by the Marist Brothers. He left home to attended

prep school Preparatory school or prep school may refer to: Schools *Preparatory school (United Kingdom), an independent school preparing children aged 8–13 for entry into fee-charging independent schools, usually public schools *College-preparatory school, ...

in Portsmouth, Rhode Island at Portsmouth Priory School, and graduated in 1945. That same year, Egan was drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

in the concluding year of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was commissioned a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

, serving in the 86th Infantry Division. Egan was discharged in 1947, after the war's end, and enrolled in

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, graduating in 1950. During the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, Egan was promoted to the rank of

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

and recalled to active duty, serving in the 2nd Infantry Division until his discharge in 1952. He then entered

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

, receiving his law degree in 1955.

Career

After graduating from law school, Egan returned to Georgia and established a law practice in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. Egan was first elected to the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. T ...

in 1966 and served until 1977. In 1977, Egan resigned from the House when he was appointed

, by President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

. In 1979, Egan resumed his law practice. In 1988, he ran for a seat in the

Georgia State Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Legal provisions The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, with the lower house being the Georgia ...

in a special election, to replace Senator Paul Coverdell who was appointed to the position of director of the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...

by President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

on May 2, 1989. Egan was elected to Coverdell's vacated Senate seat in June, 1989. He served in the Senate, representing District 40 in

Metropolitan Atlanta Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ...

from 1989 to 2001.New Georgia Encyclopedia Mike Egan
/ref>Michael Joseph Egan-obituary
/ref> Egan's willingness to occasionally support an unpopular cause, driven to do so by his own set of ethics, won the respect of colleagues, Republicans and Democrats alike. He became known as "the conscience of the senate" by his Republican colleagues. After his legislative career ended, Egan, who had retired from active practice with the Atlanta law firm of Sutherland Asbill and Brennan, continued his affiliation with the firm in "as counsel" capacity. In 2001, he was one of the first people appointed to the newly created Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District by Governor

Roy Barnes Roy Eugene Barnes (born March 11, 1948)Cook, James F. (2005). ''The Governors of Georgia, 1754-2004, 3rd Edition, Revised and Expanded.'' Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. is an American attorney and politician who served as the 80th Govern ...

. Egan also served on the board of the

Trust for Public Land The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...

Death

Egan died at his home on January 7, 2016, at the age of 89.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Egan, Michael J. 1926 births 2016 deaths Politicians from Atlanta Politicians from Savannah, Georgia Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state) Yale University alumni Harvard Law School alumni Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers United States Associate Attorneys General Republican Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators Republican Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives 20th-century American lawyers Portsmouth Abbey School alumni United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army officers