About Ted

Ted Stevens has committed his life to public service and has represented Alaska in the U.S. Senate with distinction.

Ted was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and was raised by his grandmother. At thirteen, he moved to Manhattan Beach, California where he lived with his aunt and uncle. As World War II engulfed his generation, he promised his aunt he would not enlist until he was 19. Ted attended Oregon State College for one semester in 1942 and on his 19th birthday enlisted in the Marine Air Corps but could not pass the eye test. Returning to California, he took eye exercises and on March 15, 1943, Ted joined the Army and was assigned to the Army Air Corps.

As a pilot, he flew missions in China in support of the Flying Tigers of the 14th Air Force. Ted was awarded numerous medals for his service, including two Distinguished Flying Crosses.

After returning from the war, Ted completed degrees at UCLA and Harvard Law School. In 1950 he joined a law firm in Washington, DC where he met his first wife, Ann Cherrington.

Ted accepted a position in 1952 with Collins and Clasby, a law firm in Fairbanks. In September 1953 he became U.S. Attorney in Fairbanks with responsibility for prosecuting criminal cases. He was appointed legislative counsel of the Department of the Interior during President Eisenhower’s administration. In that position, he worked with many other Alaskans to push for approval of the Alaska Statehood Act, which passed in 1958. He became the chief legal officer (the Solicitor) of the Interior Department in 1960.

Ted returned to the then new state of Alaska in 1961 to practice law in Anchorage. He was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives in 1964. In his second term, Stevens was the House Majority Leader.

Ted Stevens was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 1968 by then governor Walter J. Hickel to fill a vacancy created by the death of Senator E.L. (Bob) Bartlett. Two years later in 1970, Alaskans chose Senator Stevens to finish that term. He has been re-elected in 1972, 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996 and 2002.

During his service in the Senate, Ted has worked relentlessly to do what is best for Alaska. He was instrumental in passage of the legislation settling Alaska Native Land Claims, authorizing the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and the transfer of the Alaska Railroad to the State. His efforts led to the creation of the Essential Air Service program and bypass mail service. He has worked to improve health care, communications, and transportation for Alaskans.

Ted fought to enact the 200-mile limit, which has protected Alaska’s fisheries, and he authored the American Fisheries Act to reduce foreign ownership of Alaska’s fisheries. He created the community development quota program, which is promoting economic development in Western Alaska.

Ted has strongly supported development of Alaska’s resources including construction of a natural gas pipeline and opening the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration. He has worked hard to improve Alaska’s harbors, highways and airports.

Ted has also worked to keep our nation safe and to make sure that Alaska’s strategic location is recognized. He has led the fight keep the bases at Eielson and Ft. Rich open and to find a new role for Ft. Greely. He has pushed to improve facilities on Alaska’s bases, to get C-17s and F-22s to Alaska, and to support military families and veterans. He worked to expand Coast Guard facilities to protect our homeland, to enforce fisheries laws and to do search and rescue.

He has been a national leader on pension reform, women in sports, national security and defense. He authored the law revising the structure of amateur athletics in this country and redefined the role of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

The longest-serving member of Alaska’s congressional delegation, Ted has more years of service than any other Republican in the U.S. Senate. Ted is now a senior member of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, and the Disaster Recovery Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee.

Ted is married to the former Catherine Bittner, a fourth generation Alaskan and lawyer. He has six children and 11 grandchildren. Ted’s first wife, Ann, was killed in a 1978 airplane crash at the Anchorage airport.