Robert E. Sweeney (November 4, 1924 – June 30, 2007) was a U.S. Representative from

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

and a son of another former Representative,

Martin L. Sweeney Martin Leonard Sweeney, Sr. (April 15, 1885 – May 1, 1960), was a Democratic U.S. Representative from Ohio and the father of Robert E. Sweeney. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Sweeney attended parochial and public schools in the area, ...

Early life

Sweeney was born in the West Park neighborhood of

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...

and graduated from that city's Saint Ignatius High School. He attended

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...

in Washington, D.C.;

Baldwin-Wallace College Baldwin Wallace University (BW) is a private university in Berea, Ohio. It was founded in 1845 as Baldwin Institute by Methodist businessman John Baldwin. The school merged with nearby German Wallace College in 1913 to become Baldwin-Wallace C ...

Berea, Ohio Berea ( ) is a city in Cuyahoga County in the U.S. state of Ohio and is a western suburb of Cleveland. The population was 19,093 at the 2010 census. Berea is home to Baldwin Wallace University, as well as the training facility for the Cleveland ...

; and Cleveland-Marshall Law School in Cleveland, where he studied law despite the discouragement of his father. Sweeney joined the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and served from 1943 until 1946. In 1951, Sweeney was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

and began practicing law in Cleveland, Ohio. During his early law career, he served as the assistant director of law for Cleveland from 1951 until 1954. He later served as a special to the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

of Ohio from 1958 until 1962.

Political career

Sweeney was the Democratic nominee for

Attorney General of Ohio The Ohio Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The Ohio Attorney General is Republican Dave Yost. History The office of the attor ...

in 1962 but was defeated in the general election that November. Sweeney was elected as a Democrat in 1964 to an

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

seat to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. He served just one term, the Eighty-ninth Congress, January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1967. After Ohio switched to electing members of Congress by districts beginning in 1966, Sweeney decided to forgo a re-election bid and sought the Attorney General's office an additional time. As in 1962, he won the Democratic nomination but fell short in November. He then resumed the practice of law. Sweeney was appointed in 1976 to an unexpired term on the Cuyahoga County Commission. He was subsequently elected to a full term in 1977. In 1980, he lost his seat on the commission after losing his bid for re-election. During his tenure as a county commissioner, he was a supporter of regional government, helped establish Cuyahoga's public defender's office and the solid-waste district. He also was a primary advocate for the renovation of the

Playhouse Square Center Playhouse Square is a theater district in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is the largest performing arts center in the US outside of New York City (only Lincoln Center is larger). Constructed in a span of 19 months in the early 1920s, ...

Later life and death

Sweeney was one of the first lawyers to bring forward a lawsuit related to asbestos. During his research, he discovered an incriminating document that showed that the manufacturers of asbestos had been aware of its dangers for half a century but conspired to conceal the information from the public. As a result of large settlements from the asbestos manufacturers, he would go on to earn millions of dollars. Sweeney was instrumental in the placement of the so-called "Irish plank" into the Democratic platform at the

1992 Democratic National Convention The 1992 Democratic National Convention nominated Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas for president and Senator Al Gore from Tennessee for vice president; Clinton announced Gore as his running-mate on July 9, 1992. The convention was held at Madiso ...

. Sweeney's health sharply declined after suffering a major

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

in 1999. Sweeney died at the age of 82 on June 30, 2007, at his home in Gates Mills, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb, after suffering from a variety of ailments. He is survived by his second wife, Kathryn; his first wife Patricia and their 13 children, Robert, Daniel, William, Martin, John, James, Thomas, Mary Brigid, Alice Marie, Edward, Patrica, Eileen and Catherine; 37 grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren; and two stepchildren from his second marriage.

External links

Obituary
from ''The Cleveland Plain Dealer'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, Robert E. 1924 births 2007 deaths Cleveland–Marshall College of Law alumni Georgetown University alumni Politicians from Cleveland Baldwin Wallace University alumni United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers Burials in Calvary Cemetery (Cleveland) 20th-century American politicians People from Gates Mills, Ohio Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio