Calvin Smyre (born May 17, 1947) is an American politician who served as a member of the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republican Party (United States), Repu ...

. Elected in 1974, he was the longest-serving member of the Georgia Legislature. In May 2022, his nomination to serve as the

United States ambassador to the Dominican Republic This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to the Dominican Republic. List of ambassadors See also * Dominican Republic – United States relations * Foreign relations of the Dominican Republic *Ambassadors of the United States Ref ...

was withdrawn and he was instead nominated to serve as the

United States ambassador to the Bahamas The ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Bahamas, usually simply called U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas, is an official position and title appointed by the president of the United States and confirm ...

Early life and education

Smyre was born in Columbus, Georgia as one of three children to Carter Smyre Jr. and Mildred Rudine Smyre (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Bass). His father, Carter Smyre Jr. (1926-2024), was a native of

Griffin, Georgia Griffin is a city in and the county seat of Spalding County, Georgia, Spalding County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a po ...

and career officer of the U.S. Army who owned a realty company and was appointed by Governor

Joe Frank Harris Joseph Franklin Harris (born February 16, 1936) is an American businessman and Democratic politician who served as the 78th governor of Georgia from 1983 to 1991. Early life and career Harris was born in the Atco Mill Village of Cartersville ...

to the Georgia Residential Financial Authority. Calvin Smyre earned a Bachelor of Science degree from

Fort Valley State University Fort Valley State University (FVSU; formerly Fort Valley State College and Fort Valley Normal and Industrial School) is a public land-grant historically black university in Fort Valley, Georgia, United States. It is part of the University Syste ...

with a focus in

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

Career

Smyre has served as a delegate for Georgia to every

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

since 1980, and became the first African American member elected from Georgia to the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

in 1984. He advised the presidential campaigns of

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

, and

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

, and served as an elector for Georgia to the

Electoral College An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...

in 1980, 1992, and 2020. Smyre became the youngest member of the

when he was elected to the chamber at the age of 26 in 1974. Governor

appointed Smyre assistant floor leader in the 1983 legislative session and, in 1986, appointed him floor leader for the 1987 session, making him the first African American leader of the House since

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

. In 1998, he was elected the first African American Chairman of the Democratic Party's state legislative caucus; and, in 2001, Smyre was appointed Chairman of the state Democratic Party. In 2006, he was elected President of the

National Black Caucus of State Legislators The National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) is an American political organization composed of African Americans elected to state legislatures in the United States and its territories. Background NBCSL was founded in 1977 after a gro ...

. Smyre is known for helping Democrats and Republicans negotiate, acting as a liaison. Smyre also worked as executive vice president of corporate external affairs at

Synovus Synovus Financial Corp., formerly the Columbus Bank and Trust Company, is an American financial services company with approximately $62 billion in assets based in Columbus, Georgia. Synovus provides commercial and retail banking, investment, and ...

and president of the Synovus Foundation.

Biden administration

On September 22, 2021, President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

announced that he would nominate Smyre to serve as the

. On October 4, 2021, his nomination was sent to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. On May 17, 2022, his nomination was withdrawn, and he was nominated to serve as the ambassador to the Bahamas. On May 13, 2022, President

announced his intent to nominate Smyre to serve as the next

. On May 17, 2022, his nomination was sent to the Senate. His nomination was not acted on for the remainder of the Congress and was sent back to Biden on January 3, 2023. President Biden renominated Smyre the same day, however the nomination never reached the

Senate Foreign Relations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for authorizing and overseeing foreign a ...

before Biden left office on January 20, 2025.

References

External links

Georgia General Assembly - Representative Calvin SmyreProject Vote Smart - Representative Calvin Smyre (GA)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Calvin Smyre
200620042002200019981996
campaign contributions
Synovus - Calvin Smyre
profile * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Smyre, Calvin Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives 1947 births Living people Fort Valley State University alumni African-American state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state) Politicians from Columbus, Georgia State political party chairs of Georgia (U.S. state) 2020 United States presidential electors 1992 United States presidential electors 1980 United States presidential electors 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century members of the Georgia General Assembly 20th-century members of the Georgia General Assembly