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Benjamin Gilman
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Benjamin Gilman
Benjamin Arthur Gilman (December 6, 1922 – December 17, 2016) was an American politician and Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Middletown, New York, from January 3, 1973, to January 3, 2003.
Gilman was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, the son of Esther (Gold) and Harry Gilman. His parents were Austrian Jewish immigrants.[citation needed] Gilman graduated from Middletown High School in Middletown, New York, in 1941 and received a B.S. from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 1946. He also earned an LL.B. from New York Law School. He was a brother of Zeta Beta Tau. Gilman served in the United States Army Air Corps from 1942 until 1945 during World War II. During that conflict, he flew 35 missions over Japan, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Clusters.
After graduating New York Law School in 1950, Gilman served as assistant attorney general to the Attorney General of New York from 1953 until 1955. Following this, he practiced law privately in his hometown of Middletown, New York.
Gilman was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1967 to 1972, sitting in the 177th, 178th and 179th New York State Legislatures. He was a member of the New York State Southeastern Water Commission.
Gilman first won election to Congress in 1972 to represent New York's 26th congressional district. New York's congressional districts had been redrawn in reapportionment, and in the general election Gilman defeated incumbent congressman John G. Dow, a Democrat who had been serving in New York's 27th congressional district, (which included most of the territory and population of the new 26th district). Gilman subsequently served in Congress from January 3, 1973, until January 3, 2003. During his time in Congress, he was chair of the House Committee on International Relations (104th through 106th Congresses).
He was widely regarded as a moderate Republican in the mold of New York's Nelson Rockefeller He was active on foreign affairs issues, serving as a Congressional delegate to the United Nations, serving under Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick in 1981. He was a Member of the Ukraine Famine Commission, a member of the U.S., European, Canadian and Mexican Interparliamentary conferences, and a Congressional Advisor to the U.N. Law of the Sea Conference. He was co-chair of the Committee on Irish Affairs and participated on the International Task Force on Narcotics. He was a recipient of the Secretary's Distinguished Service Award, a gold medal and certificate which represents the highest civilian honor bestowed by the State Department.
Throughout his years in Congress, he was a member of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee, the name of which evolved into the Government Reform and Oversight Committee in the 1990s. As a co-founder of the House Select Committee on Narcotics, he served as a senior member on that Committee (1977–1989) and continued to serve as a member until the committee was abolished in 1993.
During the 1970s, Gilman became closely identified with the issue of Prisoners of War and Missing in Action in Southeast Asia. He served on the Select Congressional Committee on that problem, and was one of only two Members of Congress to vote in opposition to closing the book on the POW/MIA situation.
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Benjamin Gilman
Benjamin Arthur Gilman (December 6, 1922 – December 17, 2016) was an American politician and Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Middletown, New York, from January 3, 1973, to January 3, 2003.
Gilman was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, the son of Esther (Gold) and Harry Gilman. His parents were Austrian Jewish immigrants.[citation needed] Gilman graduated from Middletown High School in Middletown, New York, in 1941 and received a B.S. from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 1946. He also earned an LL.B. from New York Law School. He was a brother of Zeta Beta Tau. Gilman served in the United States Army Air Corps from 1942 until 1945 during World War II. During that conflict, he flew 35 missions over Japan, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Clusters.
After graduating New York Law School in 1950, Gilman served as assistant attorney general to the Attorney General of New York from 1953 until 1955. Following this, he practiced law privately in his hometown of Middletown, New York.
Gilman was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1967 to 1972, sitting in the 177th, 178th and 179th New York State Legislatures. He was a member of the New York State Southeastern Water Commission.
Gilman first won election to Congress in 1972 to represent New York's 26th congressional district. New York's congressional districts had been redrawn in reapportionment, and in the general election Gilman defeated incumbent congressman John G. Dow, a Democrat who had been serving in New York's 27th congressional district, (which included most of the territory and population of the new 26th district). Gilman subsequently served in Congress from January 3, 1973, until January 3, 2003. During his time in Congress, he was chair of the House Committee on International Relations (104th through 106th Congresses).
He was widely regarded as a moderate Republican in the mold of New York's Nelson Rockefeller He was active on foreign affairs issues, serving as a Congressional delegate to the United Nations, serving under Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick in 1981. He was a Member of the Ukraine Famine Commission, a member of the U.S., European, Canadian and Mexican Interparliamentary conferences, and a Congressional Advisor to the U.N. Law of the Sea Conference. He was co-chair of the Committee on Irish Affairs and participated on the International Task Force on Narcotics. He was a recipient of the Secretary's Distinguished Service Award, a gold medal and certificate which represents the highest civilian honor bestowed by the State Department.
Throughout his years in Congress, he was a member of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee, the name of which evolved into the Government Reform and Oversight Committee in the 1990s. As a co-founder of the House Select Committee on Narcotics, he served as a senior member on that Committee (1977–1989) and continued to serve as a member until the committee was abolished in 1993.
During the 1970s, Gilman became closely identified with the issue of Prisoners of War and Missing in Action in Southeast Asia. He served on the Select Congressional Committee on that problem, and was one of only two Members of Congress to vote in opposition to closing the book on the POW/MIA situation.
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