Dr. Schwarz was born and raised in Battle Creek, Michigan, after his family moved there in 1935 so his father could work as a physician in the Veterans Administration Hospital. He has two older siblings, Frank and Janet. He attended Fremont Elementary School, W.K. Kellogg Junior High School, and graduated from Battle Creek Central High School. He played on the baseball, swimming and football teams at B.C. Central. In 1959, he received a B.A. in History from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he played on the 1956 reserve football team as a center.[3]
Dr. Schwarz graduated from Wayne State University Medical School in 1964 and interned at Los Angeles County Hospital before enlisting in the Navy.[4] Next, Dr. Schwarz served in Southeast Asia for five years, first with the U.S. Navy in Vietnam and as an assistant naval attaché in Indonesia.[5] He was then a member of the Defense Intelligence Agency, before serving with the Central Intelligence Agency for three years in Indonesia, Laos, and Vietnam.[6][7] During his time in Indonesia, Dr. Schwarz met Suharto on several occasions and, at then-U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Marshall Green’s direction, taught Suharto basic English phrases for about six weeks. He described the dictator as "a very pleasant guy... pure as the driven snow." Following Indonesia, Schwarz was stationed with the CIA in Laos during the Laotian Civil War[8][9] Schwarz left the CIA in 1970 to attend Harvard University, finishing his residency in otolaryngology in 1973.[10]
He returned, with his new family, to Battle Creek in 1974, and has been a practicing physician in Battle Creek since that time. He currently sees patients at the Family Health Center in Battle Creek, a federally qualified health center. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. His first wife, Anne, died in 1990, and he is divorced from his second wife. He has one daughter from his first marriage.[11]
Political career
In 1984, Schwarz was elected Mayor of Battle Creek. In 1986, he was elected to the Michigan State Senate. In 2002, he ran for Governor of Michigan, but was defeated in the primary by a wide margin.
On the state level, Schwarz was appointed to Gov. Jennifer Granholm's Emergency Financial Advisory Panel, led by former Michigan governors Milliken (R) and Blanchard (D). On the national level, Schwarz was appointed by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to serve on the independent panel to investigate the conditions at Walter Reed Army Hospital in suburban Washington, DC. Schwarz was reappointed to the Altarum Institute Board of Trustees, a position he held prior to his congressional service, in February 2007. Altarum Institute is a nonprofit health policy research institute based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He also accepted a teaching position at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, which began in fall 2007.[14]
In 2010, Schwarz considered running for governor of Michigan as an independent in that year's election. However, on June 2, 2010, he announced he would not run due to fundraising issues.[2]
On June 16, 2014, Schwarz signed a brief in support of same-sex marriage.[16]
From 1991 to 2005 Schwarz served as a trustee for Olivet College. Schwarz also served as campaign chair for the college's previous capital campaign during 2007-2009 academic years for Olivet College.[17]
Electoral history
2006 Race for the U.S. House of Representatives, 7th District
