Bill Text: DE SR13 | 2021-2022 | 151st General Assembly | Draft
Bill Title: Honoring The Memory And Celebrating The Life Of The Honorable Pierre S. Du Pont Iv, Former Delaware State Representative, Member Of Congress, And Governor Of Delaware.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 14-7)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2021-05-11 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES [SR13 Detail]
Download: Delaware-2021-SR13-Draft.html
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SPONSOR: |
Sen. Sturgeon & Sen. Bonini & Sen. Brown & Sen. Ennis & Sen. Gay & Sen. Hansen & Sen. Hocker & Sen. Lawson & Sen. Lockman & Sen. Lopez & Sen. Mantzavinos & Sen. S. McBride & Sen. Paradee & Sen. Pettyjohn & Sen. Pinkney & Sen. Poore & Sen. Richardson & Sen. Sokola & Sen. Townsend & Sen. Walsh & Sen. Wilson |
DELAWARE STATE SENATE
151st GENERAL ASSEMBLY
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 13
HONORING THE MEMORY AND CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF THE HONORABLE PIERRE S. DU PONT IV, FORMER DELAWARE STATE REPRESENTATIVE, MEMBER OF CONGRESS, AND GOVERNOR OF DELAWARE.
WHEREAS, the Honorable Pierre S. du Pont IV departed this life at the age of 86 years on the Eighth Day of May 2021; and
WHEREAS, Governor du Pont, better known to his many friends as “Pete,” was born in Wilmington on the 22nd day of January 1935, the son of Pierre S. du Pont, III, and his wife, Jane Holcomb du Pont; and
WHEREAS, he grew to manhood in the Wilmington area as a member of perhaps Delaware’s most famous family, a descendent of the first Pierre Samuel du Pont and his son, Éleuthère Irénée du Pont, founder of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company; and
WHEREAS, he was educated at Tower Hill School, Phillips Exeter Academy, and Princeton University, from which he graduated in 1956 with an engineering degree before serving as an officer in the United States Navy, a time that he later described as “one of my life’s extraordinary experiences;” and
WHEREAS, while a student at Princeton, he had met the young woman who became the love of his life, Elise Ravenal Wood of Philadelphia, and in 1957, while serving in the Navy, he and Elise were united in Holy Matrimony, a union which has ultimately been blessed with four children, their daughter Elise, and sons Pierre V, Benjamin, and Éleuthère, and 10 grandchildren; and
WHEREAS, following his Navy Service, he earned a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1963, where he excelled academically, winning the Ames Moot Court Competition in his final year; and
WHEREAS, in 1963, he settled in Wilmington, where he began working for the DuPont Company, remaining with the company for the next six years, serving as a quality control supervisor in the production of magnetic tape; and
WHEREAS, in 1968, he ran for the office of State Representative in the Delaware General Assembly and ran unopposed, serving for one term before deciding to run for Delaware’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1970; and
WHEREAS, in 1971, he was successful in winning the first of three terms in the U.S. Congress before making the momentous decision in 1976 to seek the office of Governor of Delaware at the urging of Delaware’s Republican Party leadership, running against incumbent Democratic Governor Sherman W. Tribbitt and, with Governor Tribbitt beset by an economic recession, defeating him; and
WHEREAS, taking the oath of office on what historian Roger W. Martin described as “a bitingly cold day in January 1977, with temperatures in the teens, du Pont was four days away from his 42nd birthday; and
WHEREAS, after a rocky start to his administration with both houses controlled by substantial Democratic majorities, he was able slowly to build a working relationship with the Democrats and work with legislators of both parties in addressing the state’s significant problems, including enacting a series of major financial bills and constitutional amendments establishing a state budgetary spending limit of 98 percent of state revenues, creating a state “rainy day fund,” and achieving a significant cut in state income taxes; and
WHEREAS, Governor du Pont was reelected in 1980 to a second term as governor, winning by the greatest margin against a major party opponent in Delaware history in an election which also saw the Republicans achieve a majority in the state House of Representatives; and
WHEREAS, in what became perhaps the hallmark of his years as governor, du Pont succeeded in passing the 1981 Financial Center Development Act, which led to Delaware becoming a national center of the banking and credit card industries, creating 40,000 jobs in the process; and
WHEREAS, in the years that followed Governor du Pont took an active interest in both state and national politics and government; and
WHEREAS, in the mid-1990s he created one of the first online political magazines as well as serving from 1994 to 1997 as chairman of the National Review Institute, a New York-based “think tank” founded by William F. Buckley Jr., and, from 2000 to 2014, writing a monthly column for the Wall Street Journal entitled “Outside the Box,” which dealt with topics such as global warming, health care, and presidential politics; and
WHEREAS, he also established the Pete du Pont Freedom Foundation, which annually honors a person who has helped create economic growth in the private sector with its “Pete du Pont Individual Freedom Award;” and
WHEREAS, during those years he also served as a director of the Wilmington law firm Richards, Layton & Finger from which he retired in 2007; and
WHEREAS, through his lifetime of distinguished achievement Governor du Pont has earned a well-deserved place in the history of the First State for his many positive contributions to the betterment of Delaware and its citizens;
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the 151st General Assembly of the State of Delaware, that the entire membership does hereby honor the memory and celebrate the life of the Honorable Pierre S. du Pont IV, Governor of Delaware from 1977 until 1985.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate extends heartfelt condolences to former First Lady Elise du Pont and other family members and loved ones of the Governor.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that suitable copies of this Senate Resolution be given to Governor du Pont’s family upon its passage.
SYNOPSIS
This Senate Resolution honors the memory and celebrates the life of the Honorable Pierre S. “Pete” du Pont IV, Governor of Delaware from 1977 to 1985, who departed this life on the eighth day of May 2021.
Author: Senator Sturgeon
