McGovern, George (Stanley) (1922– )

US Democratic politician. He was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1956, served as an adviser to the Kennedy administration, and was a senator 1963–81. A strong opponent of the Vietnam War, he won the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972, but was soundly defeated by the incumbent, Richard Nixon.

McGovern was born in Avon, South Dakota, served as a combat pilot during World War II, and received a PhD in history from Northwestern University in 1953. He became director of the Food for Peace programme and special assistant to Kennedy in 1961. In 1968 he was defeated by Hubert Humphrey for the Democratic presidential nomination. McGovern was defeated for re-election to the Senate in 1980, made an unsuccessful run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984, and retired to a career of lecturing and writing.