Anthony Carroll Knowles (born January 1, 1943) is an American politician and businessman who served as the seventh governor of Alaska from 1994 to 2002. Barred from seeking a third consecutive term as governor in 2002, he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2004 and again for governor in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

. In September 2008, Knowles became president of the National Energy Policy Institute, a non-profit energy policy organization funded by billionaire

George Kaiser George Bruce Kaiser (born October 30, 1943) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman of BOK Financial Corporation in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As of September 2021, he is the 476th richest person in the world and was, in 2012, one of ...

's family foundation, and located at the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...

. Knowles was discussed as a potential

Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Interior may refer to: * Secretary of the Interior (Mexico) * Interior Secretary of Pakistan * Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines) * United States Secretary of the Interior See also

*Interior ministry ...

Secretary of Energy The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and fifteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was created on October 1, 1977, when Pr ...

in an Obama cabinet, but in December 2008, Knowles was passed over in favor of

Steven Chu Steven ChuKen Salazar as Interior secretary. On April 28, 2010, Knowles was appointed to the

National Park System The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

Advisory Board by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. As of , he is the most recent Governor of Alaska from the Democratic Party.

Earlier life

Knowles was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He volunteered for 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 1962, joining the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

, and later served in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. Knowles achieved passage of legislation to create guaranteed veterans housing in the state's Pioneer's Homes, and honored their service through official days of recognition and the naming of Mount POW/MIA. He earned a degree in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

from

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 ...

in 1968. There, he was a

Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fifteen ...

fraternity (Phi chapter) brother of

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. After graduation, he moved to Alaska and worked on oil drilling rigs on the North Slope and in

Cook Inlet Cook Inlet ( tfn, Tikahtnu; Sugpiaq: ''Cungaaciq'') stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage. On its so ...

. In 1969, Knowles started his first of four restaurants including the Downtown Deli & Café in Anchorage. An avid

fly fisherman Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. The light weight requires casting techniques significantly diffe ...

, cross-country skier, and (retired)

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

runner, Tony Knowles and his wife, former First Lady of Alaska Susan Knowles, currently reside in Anchorage, Alaska. They have three children, Devon, Luke, and Sara. His older brother, Porter Knowles, resides in Kansas.

Political career

After three terms in the

Anchorage Assembly The Anchorage Assembly is the governing body of Anchorage, Alaska. The Assembly has eleven members elected to three-year terms from six districts. It is responsible for creating and approving the city's annual budget, appropriating municipal fun ...

, he served two terms as

mayor of Anchorage This is a list of mayors of Anchorage, Alaska, United States. Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage was incorporated as a city (Alaska), city on November 23, 1920. The Greater Anchorage Area Borough, which encompassed the city, was created in January 1964 ...

from 1982 to 1987. Knowles first ran for governor in 1990. He won the Democratic nomination, but was defeated by the AKIP nominee, former Governor

Walter Hickel Walter Joseph Hickel (August 18, 1919 – May 7, 2010) was an American businessman, real estate developer, and politician who served as the second governor of Alaska from 1966 to 1969 and 1990 to 1994 and as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from ...

. In 1994, he defeated former lieutenant governor

Stephen McAlpine Stephen Alan "Steve" McAlpine (born May 23, 1949) is an American lawyer and politician. McAlpine served as the fifth lieutenant governor of Alaska from 1982 until 1990. Early life Stephen Alan McAlpine was born in Yakima, Washington on May 23, ...

in the Democratic primary and was elected governor in the general election. Knowles's election was surprisingly close, but he also benefitted from the split conservative vote due to a strong third-party gubernatorial bid by the sitting lieutenant governor. In the election, Knowles received 41.1%, Republican candidate Jim Campbell 40.8% and lieutenant governor

Jack Coghill John Bruce "Jack" Coghill (September 24, 1925 – February 13, 2019) was an American politician and businessman who was the sixth lieutenant governor of Alaska from 1990 to 1994, serving under Governor Walter Hickel. Both were members of the A ...

of the

Alaskan Independence Party The Alaskan Independence Party (AKIP) is an Alaskan nationalist political party that advocates an in-state referendum which would include the option of Alaska becoming an independent country. The party also advocates positions similar to those ...

13%. Knowles won the 1998 election in a landslide, defeating Republican

John Lindauer John Howard Lindauer II (born November 20, 1937) is an American economist who served as chancellor for the University of Alaska Anchorage from 1976 to 1978 then was Dean of the School of Business and Public Affairs. He was the Republican Party can ...

51%-18%. Knowles's margin of victory in this race was due largely to a collapsed campaign from Republican

, controversy surrounding Lindauer and his misrepresentation of facts on campaign finance documents, and questions about Lindauer's state residency. Republican Robin L. Taylor, who was defeated in the primary by Lindauer, garnered 20% of the vote after announcing his write-in campaign only one week prior to the election. Knowles did not run for reelection in 2002 due to a consecutive two-term limit. Alaska law allows for more terms, but requires a break between two consecutive terms and a third. During the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

Korean Air Flight 85 On September 11, 2001, Korean Air Flight 085 (originating from Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea) was en-route to Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage, Alaska, when information about the September 11 attacks was relay ...

from Seoul was feared to have been hijacked. Worried that a possible hijacked plane might strike a target in Alaska, Governor Tony Knowles ordered the evacuation of large hotels and government buildings in Anchorage. Knowles was chair of the

Western Governors' Association The Western Governors' Association (WGA) is a non-partisan organization of all 22 United States governors (representing 19 U.S. states and 3 U.S. territories) that are considered to be part of the Western region of the nation. The WGA also invite ...

in 1997, two-term chair of the Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission, and a member of the Pew Oceans Commission (POC). During his term, Knowles established Denali Kid Care, which provides basic health care for 25,000 children and 5,000 pregnant women. The

National Child Welfare League National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

named Knowles as their Child Advocate of the Year in 1998. A strong supporter of the Alaska

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

, Knowles was recipient of the Guard's Pro Patria award and the 2001

Charles Dick Silver Medal of Merit Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

. Governor Knowles forged the " Millennium Agreement", a government-to-government agreement with tribes to foster rural delivery of services and economic development. He earned special recognition by the

National Congress of American Indians The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is an American Indian and Alaska Native rights organization. It was founded in 1944 to represent the tribes and resist federal government pressure for termination of tribal rights and assimilati ...

in 2001 and, with Marshall Lind, the 2002 Alaska Federation of Natives Denali Award, the highest award given to a non-native. Knowles pushed

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

officials to adopt his "safe passage" principle to protect

Pacific salmon ''Oncorhynchus'' is a genus of fish in the family Salmonidae; it contains the Pacific salmon and Pacific trout. The name of the genus is derived from the Greek ὄγκος (ónkos, “lump, bend”) + ῥύγχος (rhúnkhos, “snout”), i ...

and their freshwater

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

, leading to the successful negotiation of the first coast wide salmon treaty in decades. During his final term as governor, Republicans in the

Alaska Legislature The Alaska Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a bicameral institution consisting of the 40-member Alaska House of Representatives (lower house) and the 20-member Alaska Senate (upper house). There are 40 Ho ...

attacked him as a weak leader who avoided taking a position on several issues, as exemplified by their "Where's Tony?" campaign. In 2004, he ran for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

, as the Democratic challenger to Republican incumbent

Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann Murkowski ( ; born May 22, 1957) is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator for Alaska, having held that seat since 2002. Murkowski is the second-most senior Republican woman in the Senate, after S ...

, who had been appointed to her seat by her father, former Senator then Governor

Frank Murkowski Frank Hughes Murkowski (born March 28, 1933) is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He was a United States Senator from Alaska from 1981 until 2002 and the eighth governor of Alaska from 2002 until 2006. In his 2006 re ...

. Knowles was at first thought likely to win by many, but he was narrowly defeated in the election. Knowles is an outspoken opponent of

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

. Knowles is pro-choice, and opposes restrictions on abortion at any stage of pregnancy. He vetoed several bills passed by the state legislature regarding abortion including a ban on intact dilation and extraction abortions. On May 29, 2006, he announced his bid to return to the governor's office in 2006. On August 22, 2006, Knowles defeated

Eric Croft Eric Chancy Croft (born November 6, 1964) is an American attorney and politician who represented Anchorage's West district on the Anchorage Assembly from 2016 to 2019. From 1997 to 2006, Croft served as a member of the Alaska House of Representa ...

in the Democratic primary to become the Democratic nominee for Governor of Alaska in the general election. On November 7, 2006, Knowles lost the Governorship in the general election to Republican

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 R ...

. Although many had predicted a close race, including pollsters for both parties, Knowles lost by 7 points, polling lower than in his 2004 bid for the U.S. Senate.

Obama administration

In September 2008, Knowles became president of the National Energy Policy Institute, a non-profit energy policy organization funded by billionaire

's family foundation, and located at the

. Due to his early support for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

and his niece Beyonce Knowles, his status as a former governor of a western state, and his long-term involvement in oil and energy concerns, Knowles was discussed as a potential

*Interior ministry ...

in an Obama cabinet. In December 2008 Knowles was passed over in favor of

Steven Chu Steven ChuKen Salazar as Interior secretary.

National Park System Advisory Board

On April 28, 2010, Knowles was appointed to the

Advisory Board by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. After a change in administration in 2017, he opposed many of new

Interior Secretary The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural ...

Ryan Zinke Ryan Keith Zinke (; born November 1, 1961) is an American politician and businessman. Zinke, a member of the Republican Party, served in the Montana Senate from 2009 to 2013 and as the U.S. representative for Montana's at-large congressional d ...

's policies, later claiming in his resignation letter that Zinke had no interest in the "mitigation of climate change; engaging young generations; evolving a more diverse culture of park visitors, advocates and employees; bringing our schools to our parks and our parks to our schools; stressing park urbanization; (and) protecting the natural diversity of wildlife." Knowles led a mass resignation in January 2018, citing differences with the

Interior Department An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

, especially Zinke.

Electoral history

References

Specific General
"Knowles to run for governor"
by Matt Volz, Associated Press, May 29, 2006

External links

* * , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, Tony 1943 births 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American politicians United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War American restaurateurs Anchorage Assembly members Businesspeople from Alaska Businesspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma Candidates in the 2004 United States elections Candidates in the 2006 United States elections Democratic Party governors of Alaska Living people Mayors of Anchorage, Alaska Military personnel from Oklahoma Politicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma Sarah Palin United States Army officers Yale University alumni