Calvin Smyre (born May 17, 1947) is an American politician who recently served as a member of 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. ...

for the 135th district. Elected in 1974, he was the longest-serving member of the Georgia Legislature. In May 2022, his nomination to serve as the

United States ambassador to the Dominican Republic This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to the Dominican Republic. List of ambassadors See also * Dominican Republic – United States relations * Foreign relations of the Dominican Republic *Ambassadors of the United States Refere ...

was withdrawn and he was instead nominated to serve as the United States ambassador to the Bahamas.

Early life and education

Smyre was born in Columbus, Georgia. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from

Fort Valley State University } Fort Valley State University (FVSU, formerly Fort Valley State College and Fort Valley Normal and Industrial School) is a public land-grant historically black university in Fort Valley, Georgia. It is part of the University System of Georgia and ...

with a focus in business administration.

Career

Smyre has served as a delegate for Georgia to every Democratic National Convention since 1980, and became the first African American member elected from Georgia to the Democratic National Committee in 1984. He advised the presidential campaigns of

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, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

, and

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic no ...

, and served as an elector for Georgia to the Electoral College in 1980, 1992, and 2020. Smyre became the youngest member of the

when he was elected to the chamber at the age of 26 in 1974. Governor

Joe Frank Harris Joe Frank Harris (born February 16, 1936) is an American businessman and Democratic politician who served as the 78th Governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1983 to 1991. Early life and career Harris was born in the Atco Mill Village o ...

appointed Smyre assistant floor leader in the 1983 legislative session and, in 1986, appointed him floor leader for the 1987 session, making him the first African American leader of the House since

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

. In 1998, he was elected the first African American Chairman of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

's state legislative caucus; and, in 2001, Smyre was appointed Chairman of the state Democratic Party. In 2006, he was elected President of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators. Smyre is known for helping Democrats and Republicans negotiate, acting as a liaison. Smyre also worked as executive vice president of corporate external affairs at Synovus and president of the Synovus Foundation.

Biden administration

On September 22, 2021, President Joe Biden announced that he would nominate Smyre to serve as the

. On October 4, 2021, his nomination was sent to the Senate. On May 17, 2022, his nomination was withdrawn, and he was nominated to serve as the ambassador to the Bahamas. On May 13, 2022, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Smyre to serve as the next United States ambassador to the Bahamas. On May 17, 2022, his nomination was sent to the Senate. His nomination was not acted on for the remainder of the Congress and was sent back to Biden on January 3, 2023. President Biden renominated Smyre the same day. His nomination is pending before the

Senate Foreign Relations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid p ...

References

External links

Georgia General Assembly - Representative Calvin SmyreProject Vote Smart - Representative Calvin Smyre (GA)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Calvin Smyre
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campaign contributions
Synovus - Calvin Smyre
profile * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Smyre, Calvin Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives 1947 births Living people Fort Valley State University alumni African-American state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state) People from Columbus, Georgia 21st-century American politicians State political party chairs of Georgia (U.S. state) 2020 United States presidential electors 20th-century American politicians 1992 United States presidential electors 1980 United States presidential electors 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians