Bruce Edward Babbitt (born June 27, 1938) is an American politician from the state of Arizona. A member of the Democratic Party, Babbitt served as the 16th governor of Arizona from 1978 to 1987, and as the United States Secretary of the Interior from 1993 through 2001. He unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in 1988.
Babbitt was born in Flagstaff, Arizona, the son of Frances B. (Perry) and Paul James Babbitt, Sr.[1][2] He graduated from the University of Notre Dame.[3]
He married Harriet Coons (known as Hattie) in 1968. She has worked as an attorney in Arizona and Washington, D.C., and served as United States Ambassador to the Organization of American States from 1993 to 1997, and as Deputy Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development from 1997 to 2001 during the Clinton Administration.[4]
In 1993, after Byron White retired from the Supreme Court, Babbitt was seen as a top pick for his replacement.[5][6] President Clinton picked Ruth Bader Ginsburg instead.
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