Mark Odom Hatfield

Mark Odom Hatfield served as a Senator from Oregon in the United States Congress from 1967 to 1997. A member of the Republican Party, Mark Odom Hatfield contributed to the legislative process during 5 terms in office.

Mark Odom Hatfield’s service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history. As a member of the Senate, Mark Odom Hatfield participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of constituents.

Mark Odom Hatfield (July 12, 1922 – August 7, 2011) was an American politician and educator from the state of Oregon. A moderate Republican, he served eight years as Governor of Oregon, followed by 30 years as one of its United States senators, including time as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. A native Oregonian, he served in the United States Navy in the Pacific Theater during World War II after graduating from Willamette University. After the war he earned a graduate degree from Stanford University before returning to Oregon and Willamette as a professor. While still teaching, Hatfield served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. He won election to the Oregon Secretary of State’s office at the age of 34 and two years later was elected as the 29th Governor of Oregon. He was the youngest person to serve in either of those offices, and served two terms as governor before election to the United States Senate. In the Senate he served for thirty years, the longest tenure of any Senator from Oregon. At the time of his retirement, he was seventh most senior Senator and the second most senior Republican. In 1968, he was considered a candidate to be Richard Nixon’s running mate for the Republican Party presidential ticket. Hatfield served as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations on two occasions. With this role, he was able to direct funding to Oregon and research-related projects. Numerous Oregon institutions, buildings and facilities are named in his honor, including the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in Portland, the Mark O. Hatfield Library at Willamette University (his alma mater), the Hatfield Government Center light-rail station in Hillsboro, the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government in the College of Urban and Public Affairs at Portland State University, and the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. Outside of Oregon, a research center at the National Institutes of Health was named after him for his support of medical research while in the Senate. Hatfield died in Portland on August 7, 2011, after a long illness.