Tim Wirth

"Senator Wirth" redirects here. For the New Mexico Senate member, seePeter Wirth (politician).

Timothy Endicott Wirth(born September 22, 1939) is an American politician fromColoradowho served as aDemocratin both theUnited States Senate(1987–1993) and theUnited States House of Representatives(1975–1987). He also served in several appointed roles in government, including as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Education during theNixon AdministrationandUnder Secretary of State for Global Affairsfor theU.S. State Departmentduring theClinton Administration.From 1998 to 2013, he served as the president of theUnited Nations Foundation,and currently sits on the Foundation's board.

Tim Wirth
Wirth in 1986
Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs
In office May 12, 1994 – December 23, 1997
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Frank E. Loy
25thCounselor of the Department of State
In office April 23, 1993 – April 30, 1994
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Robert Zoellick
Succeeded by	Wendy Sherman(1997)
United States Senator fromColorado
In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1993
Preceded by	Gary Hart
Succeeded by	Ben Nighthorse Campbell
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromColorado's2nddistrict
In office January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1987
Preceded by	Donald Brotzman
Succeeded by	David Skaggs
Personal details
Born	Timothy Endicott Wirth (1939-09-22)September 22, 1939 Santa Fe, New Mexico,U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Wren Winslow
Relations	John Wirth(brother) Peter Wirth(nephew)
Children	2
Education	Harvard University(BA,MA) Stanford University(PhD)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1961–1967
Unit	United States Army Reserve

Early life and education

Wirth is a graduate ofGralandCountry Day School (1954) inDenver,andPhillips Exeter Academy.He received his B.A. and graduate degree fromHarvard Universityand was awarded aPhDfromStanford Universityin 1973. He served as a member of the Harvard Board of Overseers.

Wirth served as a vice president of Great Western Cities Company, part ofGreat Western United,in 1970–1971. The CEO of GWU was William M. White Jr., age 31, in 1971, when Wirth described White and Wirth readingFuture Shockand passing copies to the "older generation" of company directors.

Career

Wirth began his political career as aWhite House Fellowunder PresidentLyndon Johnsonand was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Education in the Nixon Administration. In 1970, Wirth returned to Colorado and ran successfully for theU.S. House of Representativesin 1974, unseating incumbent RepublicanDonald G. Brotzmanby a 52% to 48% margin. He represented Boulder and the Denver suburbs in Congress from 1975 to 1987. As a first term Congressman, Wirth organized the "Freshman Revolt" in 1975 unseating a handful of "old bull" committee chairmen, and encouraging others to be more inclusive. Wirth had a number of difficult reelections during his 12 years in Congress, and raised large sums of money to get reelected. With colleaguesNorman Mineta,Leon PanettaandDick Gephardt,he was part of "The Gang of Four" on the House Budget Committee challenging the budget process with bipartisan budget ideas, and developing a high technology and alternative budget in 1982. As Chair of the Telecommunications Subcommittee, he was the lead legislator in bringing competition to the video and telephone industries. Wirth also authored the Indian Peaks Wilderness Act of 1978.

Senator Wirth reading an issue ofRoll Callin 1991

In 1986, Wirth ran for theU.S. Senateand on his party's nomination unopposed to replace Sen. Gary Hart. The general election was more difficult than expected, and he defeated fellowU.S. RepresentativeKen Kramerby a narrow margin. In the Senate, he focused on environmental issues, particularly global climate change, and organized the historic Hansen hearings on climate change in 1988. At the hearings, Hansen testified that the Earth is warmer than at any other time in recent history, and that this can be attributed to human activity with 99% certainty. The hearings are widely credited with first bringing climate change into the public discourse.With his close friend, the late SenatorJohn Heinz(R-PA), he authored "Project 88", outlining the groundbreaking "Cap and Trade" idea which became law in theClean Air Act Amendments of 1990.He authored the far-reaching Colorado Wilderness Bill which became law in 1993, and with SenatorAlan Simpson(R-WY) he authored major legislation focused on population stabilization. Wirth also organized the Senate Task Force on the Expansion of Major League Baseball, which became a major factor in the awarding of a new expansion franchise to Denver. He chose not to run for re-election in 1992, citing in a front page cover story in the Sunday New York Times Magazine (August 9, 1992), frustration with the ever-increasing role of money in politics to the exclusion of focus on public policy.

After Congressional service

Wirth during theWEF2011

Following two decades of elected politics, Wirth was national co-chair of the Clinton–Gore campaign, and served in the U.S. Department of State as the firstUndersecretary for Global Affairsfrom 1993 to 1997. He led U.S. foreign policy in the areas of refugees, population, environment, science, human rights and narcotics. He chaired the United States Delegation at the 1994 Cairo Conference on Population and Development, and was the lead U.S. negotiator for theKyotoClimate Conference until he resigned from the Administration in late 1997 to accept Ted Turner's invitation to be President of the newly createdUnited Nations Foundation. As President of the UN Foundation (UNF) from 1998 to 2013, Wirth organized and led the formulation of the Foundation's mission and program priorities, which include the environment, women and population, children's health, and peace, security and human rights. The Foundation also engages in extensive public advocacy, fundraising, and institutional strengthening efforts on behalf of the United Nations. By mobilizing these diverse resources, the UN Foundation works with many public and private partners and manages a variety of campaigns to help solve major problems facing the UN and the world community.

Work with the United Nations Foundation

• Mobilizing resources in support of the eradication of polio withRotary International,theGates Foundation,and theWorld Bank;
• Initiating a global campaign to diminish the impact of measles with theAmerican Red Cross,theCenters for Disease Controland UN Agencies;
• Stimulating a nationwide grassroots program for the purchase of anti-malaria bed nets ( "Nothing But Nets") with many partners (including theWorld Health Organizationand theNational Basketball Association);
• Organizing support for the special needs of adolescent girls within the UN and many private sector partners withNikeand lead UN Agencies;
• Supporting theUnited Nations Population Fund,and working with Congress to increase U.S. funding and bring greater focus to AIDS prevention;
• Developing standards for better managing tourism's impact on the environment and contribution to climate change in close partnership withUNESCOand withExpediaand other industry leaders;
• Leading work to develop the UN framework for the post-Kyoto climate negotiations through a close partnership with the UN's leadership and retired heads of State throughout the world (The Club of Madrid);
• Managing a public-private effort with major segments of the agriculture community and UN agencies for better understanding of the promise, challenge and economics of bioenergy; and
• Advancing aggressive standards for energy efficiency in the U.S. and abroad with the U.S.-centered Energy Future Coalition.

TheUniversity of Colorado at Denverhas an endowed Tim Wirth Chair in Environmental and Community Development Policy. The current holder of the chair is the man Wirth replaced in the Senate,Gary Hart.

Wirth is a member of the ReFormers Caucus ofIssue One.

In his retirement, Wirth has been supportive of the youthclimate justicemovement. He has been active in efforts to convince his alma mater,Harvard University,to divest from fossil fuels,and in March 2021 joined Harvard students, faculty, and alumni to file an official legal complaint charging that the university's fossil fuel investments were illegal under Massachusetts law.In response to the legal complaint and other efforts, Harvard committed to divestment from fossil fuels in the fall of 2021.

Personal life

Wirth is married to Wren Winslow Wirth, the president of the Winslow Foundation. They have two children, Chris and Kelsey Wirth. Their daughter, Kelsey Wirth, is the co-founder of the orthodontic production companyAlign Technology.Their son, Chris Wirth, is the founder ofLiberty Puzzles,the largest American laser-cut jigsaw puzzle company, based inBoulder, Colorado.His nephew,Peter Wirth,was elected to theNew Mexico Legislaturein 2004. His father, the lateJohn Wirth,was the Gildred Professor ofLatin American StudiesatStanford University.

See also

• Atari Democrat

External links

• Wirth Leaves State Department for Foundation
• United Nations Foundation
• AppearancesonC-SPAN