John Joseph Henry Schwarz (born November 15, 1937), is an American physician and independent politician from

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, who was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

in 2004 as a moderate Republican. He represented

Michigan's 7th congressional district Michigan's 7th congressional district is a United States congressional district in Southern Michigan and portions of Central Michigan. The current district, drawn in 2022, centers around Lansing, Michigan, Lansing, Michigan's state capital, and ...

from January 2005 to January 2007.

Early life and career

Dr. Schwarz was born and raised in

Battle Creek, Michigan Battle Creek is a city in northwestern Calhoun County, Michigan, United States, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a tota ...

, after his family moved there in 1935 so his father could work as a physician in the

Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

Hospital. He has two older siblings, Frank and Janet. He attended Fremont Elementary School, W.K. Kellogg Junior High School, and graduated from Battle Creek Central High School. He played on the baseball, swimming and football teams at B.C. Central. In 1959, he received a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

, where he played on the 1956 reserve football team as a center. Dr. Schwarz graduated from Wayne State University Medical School in 1964 and interned at Los Angeles County Hospital before enlisting in the Navy. For five years, Dr. Schwarz served in Southeast Asia, first with the U.S. Navy in Vietnam and as an assistant naval attaché in Indonesia. He was then a member of the Defense Intelligence Agency, before serving with the Central Intelligence Agency for three years in Indonesia, Laos, and Vietnam. During his time in Indonesia, Dr. Schwarz met

Suharto Suharto (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian Officer (armed forces), military officer and politician, and dictator, who was the second and longest serving president of Indonesia, serving from 1967 to 1998. His 32 years rule, cha ...

on several occasions and, at then-U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia

Marshall Green Marshall Green (January 27, 1916 – June 6, 1998) was an American diplomat whose career focused on East Asia. Green was the senior American diplomat in South Korea at the time of the 1960 April Revolution, and was United States Ambassador to In ...

’s direction, taught Suharto basic English phrases for about six weeks. Following Indonesia, Schwarz was stationed with the CIA in Laos during the

Laotian Civil War The Laotian Civil War was waged between the Communist Pathet Lao and the Royal Lao Government from 23 May 1959 to 2 December 1975. The Kingdom of Laos was a covert Theatre (warfare), theater during the Vietnam War with both sides receiving heavy ...

Schwarz left the CIA in 1970 to attend Harvard University, finishing his residency in

otolaryngology Otorhinolaryngology ( , abbreviated ORL and also known as otolaryngology, otolaryngology–head and neck surgery (ORL–H&N or OHNS), or ear, nose, and throat (ENT)) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the surgical an ...

in 1973. He returned, with his new family, to Battle Creek in 1974, and has been a practicing

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

in Battle Creek since that time. He currently sees patients at the Family Health Center in Battle Creek, a federally qualified health center. He is a

Fellow of the American College of Surgeons The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is a Professional association, professional medical association for surgeons and surgical team members, founded in 1913. It claims more than 90,000 members in 144 countries. History The ACS was founded i ...

. His first wife, Anne, died in 1990, and he is divorced from his second wife. He has one daughter from his first marriage.

Political career

In 1984, Schwarz was elected Mayor of Battle Creek. In 1986, he was elected to the

Michigan State Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Constitution of Michigan, Mi ...

. In 2002, he ran for

Governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of government of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the state's 49th governor. She was re-ele ...

, but was defeated in the primary by a wide margin. In 2006, Schwarz voted against the

Federal Marriage Amendment The Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA), also referred to by proponents as the Marriage Protection Amendment, was a proposed Article Five of the United States Constitution, amendment to the United States Constitution that would legally define marria ...

, which would have banned every state from legally recognizing

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

. Schwarz is considered to be a moderate Republican who supports abortion rights and favors embryonic

stem cell research In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can change into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of cell ...

Post-congressional life

On the state level, Schwarz was appointed to Gov.

Jennifer Granholm Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is an American politician who was the 16th United States secretary of energy from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she previously served as the 47t ...

's Emergency Financial Advisory Panel, led by former Michigan governors Milliken (R) and Blanchard (D). On the national level, Schwarz was appointed by Secretary of Defense

Robert Gates Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was appointed by President George W. Bush and retained b ...

to serve on the independent panel to investigate the conditions at Walter Reed Army Hospital in suburban Washington, D.C. Schwarz was reappointed to the Altarum Institute Board of Trustees, a position he held prior to his congressional service, in February 2007. Altarum Institute is a nonprofit health policy research institute based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He also accepted a teaching position at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, which began in fall 2007. In 2010, Schwarz considered running for governor of Michigan as an independent in that year's election. However, on June 2, 2010, he announced he would not run due to fundraising issues. , Schwarz is a member of the Michigan State Medical Society's board of directors. On June 16, 2014, Schwarz signed a brief in support of same-sex marriage. From 1991 to 2005 Schwarz served as a trustee for

Olivet College The University of Olivet, formerly known as Olivet College, is a private Christian college in Olivet, Michigan, United States. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It was founded in 1844 by missionaries from Oberlin Coll ...

. Schwarz also served as campaign chair for the college's previous capital campaign during 2007-2009 academic years for Olivet College.

Electoral history

* 2006 Race for the U.S. House of Representatives, 7th District **

Tim Walberg Timothy Lee Walberg (born April 12, 1951) is an American politician serving as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from Michigan since 2011, representing the state's Michigan's 5th congressional district, 5th congression ...

(R), 50% ** Sharon Renier (D), 46% ** David Horn (UST), 1% ** Robert Hutchinson (L), 2% ** Joe Schwarz, 1% (Write-in candidate) * 2006 Race for the U.S. House of Representatives, 7th District – Republican Primary **

(R), 53% ** Joe Schwarz (R) (inc.), 47% * 2004 Race for the U.S. House of Representatives, 7th District ** Joe Schwarz (R), 58% ** Sharon Renier (D), 36% * 2004 Race for the U.S. House of Representatives, 7th District – Republican Primary ** Joe Schwarz (R), 28% ** Brad Smith (R), 22% **

(R), 18% **

Clark Bisbee Clark E. Bisbee was an American politician and businessman from Jackson, Michigan. He was the owner of Bisbee Travel, a local travel agency. He served as the Republican representative to Michigan's state house from Michigan's 64th district u ...

(R), 14% ** Gene DeRossett (R), 11% ** Paul DeWeese (R), 7% * 2002 Race for Governor – Republican Primary **

Dick Posthumus Richard Posthumus (; born July 19, 1950) is an American businessman, and politician. He was the 61st lieutenant governor of Michigan and majority leader of the Michigan Senate. In 2002, he was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for Governor o ...

(R), 81% ** Joe Schwarz (R), 19%

References

External links

* *
Voting record maintained by the Washington Post
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwarz, Joe 1937 births Living people 20th-century American physicians American otolaryngologists Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy faculty Mayors of places in Michigan Michigan independents Michigan Wolverines football players Michigan state senators People from Battle Creek, Michigan Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan United States Navy Medical Corps officers University of Michigan faculty Faculty Military personnel from Michigan 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Michigan Legislature 21st-century members of the Michigan Legislature