Thomas Kean
Thomas Howard Kean (born April 21, 1935) was the Republican Governor of New Jersey from 1982 to 1990. He has been president of Drew University in Madison, New Jersey since 1990.
Thomas Howard Kean was born in New York City to a long line of New Jersey politicans. He was educated at Princeton and Columbia Universities, and was originally a teacher of history and government. In 1967, he was elected as a Republican Assemblyman to the New Jersey State Legislature. He served as the house speaker in 1972, and became the minority leader in 1974. In 1973, he briefly served as Acting Governor. He ran successfully for governor in 1981, and served two terms. After leaving office, he became the President of Drew University, in which capacity he still serves.
In December 2002, Kean was appointed by President George W. Bush to lead the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, an independent commission investigating the September 11 Terrorist Attacks. On April 4, 2004, Kean stated that the attacks could have been prevented had the United States government acted sooner to dismantle Al Qaeda and responded more quickly to other terrorist threats.
| Preceded by: Brendan Byrne |
Governors of New Jersey | Succeeded by: James Florio |