James Johnston Blanchard (born August 8, 1942) is an American lawyer, diplomat, and politician who was the 45th governor of Michigan from 1983 to 1991. A member of the Democratic Party, Blanchard worked in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1983. Later, he served as the U.S. Ambassador to Canada from 1993 to 1996.
Early life and education
Blanchard was born in Detroit, Michigan, on August 8, 1942. He grew up in Ferndale, Michigan, and attended Lincoln High School there. In 1964, he received a Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University. The following year, he earned an MBA. In 1968, he completed a Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota Law School. Soon after, he was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan. He now lives in Pleasant Ridge, Michigan.
Career
Blanchard began working as a lawyer in Lansing and served as a legal advisor to the Michigan Secretary of State in 1968 and 1969. He worked as Assistant Attorney General of Michigan from 1969 to 1974. During this time, he also held roles such as administrative assistant to the attorney general from 1970 to 1971 and assistant deputy attorney general from 1971 to 1972. In 1974, he joined the law firm of Beer and Boltz in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Blanchard was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives from Michigan's 18th District for the 94th Congress and the three Congresses that followed. He served from January 3, 1975, to January 1, 1983. During his time in Congress, he helped create laws that provided federal loan guarantees for Chrysler Corporation, which helped the company avoid bankruptcy.
In 1982, Blanchard decided not to run for re-election to the U.S. House. Instead, he was elected Governor of Michigan, defeating Republican Richard Headlee, an insurance company executive from Farmington Hills. Blanchard served two terms as governor from 1983 to 1991 until he lost the 1990 election to Republican state senator John Engler. He was the first Democratic governor in Michigan in 20 years since John Swainson, who left office in 1963.
On January 1, 1983, Blanchard became governor of a state facing a $1.7 billion budget deficit, the risk of bankruptcy, unemployment rates over 17%, and the worst credit rating in the country. He worked with leaders from business, labor, education, and local government to create a plan for Michigan's future. This included raising income taxes and fees to balance the state's budget. By the end of his term, Blanchard had balanced eight consecutive state budgets, improved the state's credit rating, created a $422 million "rainy-day fund," and saved the state over $1 billion through lower borrowing costs.
Newsweek praised Governor Blanchard for leading "one of the most dramatic economic turnarounds in the recent history of state government." National publications like U.S. News & World Report listed him among the best governors in America. However, in 1990, Blanchard lost his campaign for a third term to John Engler.
After leaving the governor's office, Blanchard became a partner at the Washington law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson, and Hand. He also led Bill Clinton's successful campaign for president in Michigan in 1992.
President Clinton appointed Blanchard as United States Ambassador to Canada, a role he held from 1993 to 1996. In 2002, Blanchard ran for governor again but lost his primary election to State Attorney General Jennifer Granholm. By 2004, he was a partner at the Washington D.C. law firm of DLA Piper U.S. and lived in Beverly Hills, Michigan. He also served as Chairman of Meridian International Center, on the Advisory Board of the Institute for Law and Politics at the University of Minnesota Law School, and as President of the Foundation for the National Archives. Blanchard co-chaired the Canada-United States Law Institute.
Blanchard served on the board of the Canadian pipeline company Enbridge for over 10 years and advised them after the 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill. He also worked on the "Debt Reduction Task Force" at the Bipartisan Policy Center and was a board member of Nortel and Chrysler Group LLC from 2009 to 2012.
Blanchard is a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One.