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Paul Efthemios Tsongas (February 14, 1941 – January 18, 1997) was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the United States Democratic Party.

Tsongas (IPA pronunciation: ['sɑŋgəs]) was born to a working-class Greek father and native Massachusetts mother. He attended Dartmouth and Yale Law School before settling in Lowell, Massachusetts.

He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia in 1962-64, and as Peace Corps Country Director in the West Indies in 1967-68.

Tsongas first entered politics as a city councillor, elected to the Lowell City Council in 1969 and served two consecutive terms. Tsongas went on to serve as a county commissioner of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. In 1974 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives, defeating Republican incumbent Paul Cronin. He served two terms in the House, and in 1978 he was elected to the Senate, defeating incumbent Edward Brooke. In 1983, however, he was diagnosed with cancer and in 1984 announced his retirement from the Senate. After fighting the illness he returned to politics and in 1992 ran for his party's nomination for President. He ran a strong campaign and succeeded in winning the New Hampshire primary, but was eventually eclipsed by a resurgent Bill Clinton (the "Comeback Kid"), who would go on to win the Presidency. Tsongas was viewed as social liberal and economic conservative. He was especially known for his pro-business economic policies that have come to be embraced by many in the modern Democratic Party. In particular, he focused on the United States budget deficit and its harmful effects, a cause he continued to champion after his primary campaign ended by co-founding The Concord Coalition (website).

A few years later the cancer returned and he died of pneumonia and liver failure.

On January 27, 1998, the Tsongas Arena in Lowell was dedicated in his honor.

[edit] References

• Paul Tsongas. 1984. Heading Home. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0-394-54130-8.
• U.S. Congress, Biographical Information, TSONGAS, Paul Efthemios, (1941 - 1997)
• Sen. Christopher Dodd's Tribute to Sen. Paul Tsongas (Senate - January 28, 1997)

[edit] External links

• Peace Corps biography of Paul Tsongas

Preceded by: Paul W. Cronin	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 5th congressional district January 31975 – January 31979	Succeeded by: James Shannon
Preceded by: Edward Brooke	United States Senator (Class 2) from Massachusetts 1979 – 1985 Served alongside: Ted Kennedy	Succeeded by: John Kerry