Stephen Cambreleng Cowper (born August 21, 1938) is an American Democratic

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who was the sixth

governor of Alaska A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

from 1986 to 1990. He was governor during the 1989 ''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 Petersburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33,458 with a majority bla ...

, to Stephanie (née Smith) and Marion Cowper. He was raised in

Kinston, North Carolina Kinston is a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina, United States, with a population of 19,900 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It has been the county seat of Lenoir County since its formation in 1791. Kinston is located in the ...

and attended

Virginia Episcopal School Virginia Episcopal School (VES) is a private, co-educational college preparatory, boarding and day school for students in grades 9 - 12, located in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. The school was first conceived in 1906 by the Reverend Rob ...

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner and Abolitionism, abolitionist John Lynch (1740–1820), J ...

. He received

bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ( ...

and

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

degrees from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

, and after serving in the U.S. Army Medical Corps and Army Reserve, he worked as a

maritime law Maritime law or admiralty law is a body of law that governs nautical issues and private maritime disputes. Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between pri ...

yer in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, for three years. Cowper moved to

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a Municipal home rule, home rule city and the county seat, borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior Alaska, interior region of Alaska and the second la ...

, in 1968 and served as assistant district attorney for rural Alaska and Fairbanks. In 1970, Cowper went to

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and worked as a freelance correspondent throughout

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. Upon returning to Alaska, he wrote a political column for the ''

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner The '' Fairbanks Daily News-Miner'' is a morning daily newspaper serving the city of Fairbanks, Alaska, the Fairbanks North Star Borough, the Denali Borough, Alaska, Denali Borough, and the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, Yukon-Koyukuk Census ...

'', 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 marine research team.

Political career

In 1974, Cowper was elected to the

Alaska House of Representatives The Alaska House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of approximately 17,756 people pe ...

, where he served two terms.Marie Marmo Mullaney
''Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1988–1994''
Greenwood Publishing Group, 1994. p. 13. 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 William Jennings Sheffield Jr. (June 26, 1928 – November 4, 2022) was an American Democratic politician who was the fifth governor of Alaska from 1982 to 1986. Sheffield's term in the governor's mansion was marked by controversy including att ...

, who went on to win the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

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. He eventually won the November 4

, winning 47% of the vote against Republican

state Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Arliss Sturgulewski and

Alaskan Independence Party The Alaskan Independence Party (AIP) is an Alaskan nationalist political party in the United States that advocates for an in-state referendum which would include the option of Alaska becoming an independent country. The party also supports gun r ...

candidate

Joe Vogler Joseph E. Vogler (April 24, 1913 – ) was an American politician and the founder of the Alaskan Independence Party. He was also chair or gubernatorial nominee during most of the party's existence. Originally known in his adopted hometown of Fa ...

. Once in office, Cowper proposed reestablishing the state

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable 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 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, a decision considered a surprise by some observers.

Post-governorship

After serving as governor, Cowper served as a visiting fellow at the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, (PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ) is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate c ...

in 1991, and was a Co-Chairman of the Pacific Rim Fisheries Conference in 1994 and 1997. 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 Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

with his third wife and family.

References

External links

*
Steve Cowper
at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature'' * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowper, Steve 1938 births Alaska lawyers American Episcopalians Democratic Party governors of Alaska Exxon Valdez oil spill Lawyers from Fairbanks, Alaska Living people Democratic Party members of the Alaska House of Representatives Military personnel from Fairbanks, Alaska Military personnel from Virginia Politicians from Fairbanks, Alaska Politicians from Petersburg, Virginia University of North Carolina School of Law alumni Virginia lawyers Virginia Episcopal School alumni 20th-century members of the Alaska Legislature