Editing Steve Cowper

{{Short description|Governor of Alaska from 1986 to 1990}}
{{Lead too short|date=May 2014}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name         = Steve Cowper
|image        = Steve Cowper 1990.jpg
|caption      = Cowper in 1990
|order        = 6th [[Governor of Alaska]]
|lieutenant   = [[Steve McAlpine]] 
|term_start   = December 1, 1986
|term_end     = December 3, 1990
|predecessor  = [[Bill Sheffield]]
|successor    = [[Wally Hickel]]
|state_house1 = Alaska
|district1    = 20th
|term_start1  = January 20, 1975
|term_end1    = January 14, 1979
|predecessor1 = ''Multi-member district''
|successor1   = ''Multi-member district''
|birth_name   = Stephen Cambreleng Cowper
|birth_date   = {{birth date and age|1938|8|21}}
|birth_place  = [[Petersburg, Virginia]], U.S.
|death_date   = 
|death_place  = 
|party        = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|spouse       = {{ubl |{{marriage|Deanna Blanco||end=div}} |{{marriage|[[Michael Margaret Stewart|Margaret Stewart]]|1985|1991|end=div}}}}
|children     = 3
|education    = [[University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])
|signature    = Steve Cowper signature.jpg
|allegiance   = {{flag|United States}}
|branch       = {{army|United States}}
|branch_label = Branch
|unit         = [[Medical Corps (United States Army)|Army Medical Corps]]<br />[[United States Army Reserve]]
}}
'''Stephen Cambreleng Cowper''' (born August 21, 1938) is an American [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] [[politician]] who was the sixth [[governor of Alaska]] from 1986 to 1990. He was governor during the 1989 [[Exxon Valdez oil spill|''Exxon Valdez'' oil spill]].

Cowper is the CEO of Steve Cowper & Associates. He has also served on the boards of multiple energy-related companies in the US and Canada.

==Early life and career==
Cowper was born in 1938 in [[Petersburg, Virginia]], to Stephanie (née Smith) and Marion Cowper. He was raised in [[Kinston, North Carolina]] and attended [[Virginia Episcopal School]] in [[Lynchburg, Virginia]].<ref>{{cite web | title=100 Years of Alaska's Legislature | website=Alaska State Legislature | url=https://akleg.gov/100years/bio.php?id=1027 | ref={{sfnref | Alaska State Legislature}} | access-date=2024-08-06}}</ref> He received [[Bachelor of Arts|bachelor's]] and [[Bachelor of Laws|law]] degrees from the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]], and after serving in the [[U.S. Army Medical Corps]] and [[U.S. Army Reserve|Army Reserve]], he worked as a [[maritime law]]yer in [[Norfolk, Virginia]], for three years.<ref name=nga>{{cite web|title=Alaska Governor Steve Cowper|url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_alaska/col2-content/main-content-list/title_cowper_steve.html|work=nga.org|publisher=National Governors Association|accessdate=May 12, 2013}}</ref> Cowper moved to [[Fairbanks, Alaska]], in 1968 and served as assistant district attorney for rural Alaska and Fairbanks.<ref name="nga"/>

In 1970, Cowper went to [[Vietnam]] and worked as a freelance correspondent throughout [[Asia]]. Upon returning to Alaska, he wrote a political column for the ''[[Fairbanks Daily News-Miner]]'', taught a college course on Alaska lands, was a partner in an air taxi and cargo business, and worked as a diver for a [[University of Alaska]]{{Clarify|date=May 2014|reason=Link points to the article "University of Alaska System", which is predominately an administrative entity little involved in research of this sort.}} marine research team.<ref name="nga"/>

==Political career==
[[File:Steve Cowper 1977.jpg|thumb|left|140px|Cowper during his second term in the Alaska House of Representatives]]
In 1974, Cowper was elected to the [[Alaska House of Representatives]], where he served two terms.<ref name=Mullaney>Marie Marmo Mullaney. [https://books.google.com/books?id=gN_LGy81_iIC&dq=%22steve+cowper%22+%22governor+of+alaska%22&pg=PA13 ''Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1988–1994''], Greenwood Publishing Group, 1994. p. 13.</ref> During his time in the House, he served as chairman of the Finance Committee (1977–1978), chairman of the Steering Council on Alaska Lands (1978), a member of the Subsistence Committee (1977–1978), and a member of the Alaska Advisory Committee for the Law of the Sea Conference (1978). In 1982, Cowper ran for governor, but narrowly lost the Democratic nomination to [[Bill Sheffield]], who went on to win the [[1982 Alaska gubernatorial election|general election]].<ref name="Mullaney"/>

===Governor of Alaska (1986–1990)===
Cowper ran for governor again in 1986, and defeated incumbent Sheffield in the August 26 primary by a 2–1 margin.<ref name="Mullaney"/> He eventually won the November 4 [[1986 Alaska gubernatorial election|general election]], winning 47% of the vote against [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Alaska State Senate|state Senator]] [[Arliss Sturgulewski]] and [[Alaskan Independence Party]] candidate [[Joe Vogler]].<ref name="Mullaney"/>

Once in office, Cowper proposed reestablishing the state [[income tax]] to help close the state's billion-dollar deficit; this proposal was met with strong opposition. He advocated the expansion of the [[University of Alaska]]'s international study program, hoped to establish an International Trade Center, and placed emphasis on the teaching of foreign languages and culture in state schools. In early 1989, he announced that he would not seek reelection in [[1990 Alaska gubernatorial election|1990]], a decision considered a surprise by some observers.<ref name="Mullaney"/>

==Post-governorship==
After serving as governor, Cowper served as a visiting fellow at the [[Port Authority of New York and New Jersey]] in 1991, and was a Co-Chairman of the Pacific Rim Fisheries Conference in 1994 and 1997.<ref name=ogfj>{{cite web|title=Former Alaska Gov Steve Cowper joins Knowledge Ops as Senior Fellow for Government Affairs|url=http://www.ogfj.com/articles/2010/09/former-alaska_gov.html|work=ogfj.com|accessdate=May 12, 2013}}</ref>

Since 1991, he has been the CEO of Steve Cowper & Associates, a group that advises companies and governments on energy-related initiatives. He has also served on the boards of multiple energy-related companies in the US and Canada. As of 2010, Cowper lived in [[Austin, Texas]] with his third wife and family.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* [http://100years.akleg.gov/bio.php?id=1027 Steve Cowper] at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature''
* {{C-SPAN|3413}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Bill Sheffield]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[List of governors of Alaska|Governor of Alaska]]|years=[[1986 Alaska gubernatorial election|1986]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Tony Knowles (politician)|Tony Knowles]]}}
|-
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Bill Sheffield]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of governors of Alaska|Governor of Alaska]]|years=1986–1990}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Wally Hickel]]}}
|-
{{s-prec|usa}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Martha McSally]]|as=Former US Senator}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[United States order of precedence|Order of precedence of the United States]]|years=Within Alaska}}
{{s-aft|rows=2|after=[[Tony Knowles (politician)|Tony Knowles]]|as=Former Governor}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Doug Ducey]]|as=Former Governor}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[United States order of precedence|Order of precedence of the United States]]|years=Outside Alaska}}
{{s-end}}

{{AK Democratic gubernatorial nominees}}
{{Governors of Alaska}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowper, Steve}}
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:Alaska lawyers]]
[[Category:American Episcopalians]]
[[Category:Democratic Party governors of Alaska]]
[[Category:Exxon Valdez oil spill]]
[[Category:Lawyers from Fairbanks, Alaska]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the Alaska House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Fairbanks, Alaska]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Virginia]]
[[Category:Politicians from Fairbanks, Alaska]]
[[Category:Politicians from Petersburg, Virginia]]
[[Category:University of North Carolina School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:Virginia lawyers]]
[[Category:Virginia Episcopal School alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Alaska Legislature]]