Harry Allison Johnston II (December 2, 1931 – June 28, 2021) was an American lawyer, politician and diplomat from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. He was a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and was a member 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 ...

Early life and career

Johnston was born in

West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The populati ...

. He attended the

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

, and he became a lieutenant in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

after graduating. Once he was discharged, he entered the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

and earned his law degree. In 1974, Johnston was elected to the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted in ...

. With the Democrats in control of the body in the 1980s, Johnston rose to the rank of President of the Senate. In 1986, he sought the Democratic nomination for

Governor of Florida A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, but lost in a close primary race.

Congress

Johnston was elected to Congress in 1988. He served four terms in the House before his retirement in 1997.

Later career

In 1999 President

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 ...

appointed him to serve as the United States Special Envoy for Sudan. A position he held until 2000. He was an attorney at the West Palm Beach law firm of Jones, Foster, Johnston & Stubbs, P.A. until his retirement from practicing law. He served on the District Board of Trustees at

Palm Beach State College Palm Beach State College is a public college in Lake Worth, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. Palm Beach State College enrolls nearly 27,000 students in over 100 programs of study including bachelor of applied science, associa ...

from 1997 to 1999. Johnston died on June 28, 2021, aged 89, more than a decade after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

References

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* * 1931 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida Florida lawyers Democratic Party Florida state senators Fredric G. Levin College of Law alumni Military personnel from Florida People from West Palm Beach, Florida Presidents of the Florida Senate United States Army officers Virginia Military Institute alumni Deaths from Alzheimer's disease {{Florida-politician-stub