(AFP) – Former US senator Jay Rockefeller, an heir to one of America’s wealthiest dynasties who devoted decades to fighting poverty and expanding healthcare, has died aged 89, US media reported Friday. The Democrat represented the impoverished, coal-mining state of West Virginia in the Senate for 30 years, after serving two terms as governor.
A great-grandson of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, he was a rare Democrat in a family whose political dynasty was traditionally Republican. Born in New York in 1937, Rockefeller first arrived in West Virginia in 1964 as an anti-poverty volunteer, working in a remote Appalachian mining community. The experience helped shape a political career dedicated to improving the lives of working families, particularly coal miners, veterans, and children.
First elected to the Senate in 1984, he helped establish the Children’s Health Insurance Program in 1997, extending coverage to millions of children from low-income families. Rockefeller also chaired the powerful Senate Intelligence Committee and initially supported the US invasion of Iraq before becoming a fierce critic of president George W. Bush’s handling of the war.
He declined to seek a sixth Senate term in 2014, ending nearly half a century in public office. “Championing those most in need has been my life’s calling, and I will never stop fighting to make a difference for the people who mean so much to me,” he said when announcing his retirement.
West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey paid tribute to Rockefeller’s decades of service, saying he had left “a lasting mark on the lives of generations of West Virginians.”
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