Dukakis, Michael (1933–)

Michael S. Dukakis was governor of the state of Massachusetts and the Democratic nominee for president in the 1988 election. Much of his loss to George H. W. Bush in that election is thought to have derived from political miscalculations such as a photo op in an M1 Abrams tank in Michigan and the failure of his campaign to respond to Republican attacks ads that portrayed Dukakis as soft on crime.

Dukakis was born to Greek-immigrant parents in the Boston suburb of Brookline, Massachusetts. After serving 2 years in the U.S. Army overseas and graduating from Harvard Law School in 1960, Dukakis began his political career later that year when he was elected as a Town Meeting Member in Brookline as well as the chairman of ...