[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 37 (Wednesday, February 25, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S678]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                         TRIBUTE TO MARK SIEGEL

  Mr. COONS. Mr. President, Mark Siegel was born in 1946 in Brooklyn, 
NY, and has spent more than five decades as one of the Democratic 
Party's most versatile and enduring figures, serving at various points 
as a strategist, speechwriter, academic, and international democracy 
advocate.
  Siegel attended public schools in Brooklyn before earning his 
undergraduate degree from Brooklyn College in 1967. He went on to 
Northwestern University, where he completed both a master's degree in 
1968 and a Ph.D. in political science in 1972, focusing on elections, 
party reform, and the Presidential nominating process.
  His entry into national politics came during the reform-minded era of 
the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the Democratic Party was 
undergoing profound organizational and ideological change. Siegel 
served as a legislative assistant to Senator Hubert Humphrey from 1971 
to 1972 and was chief strategist for Humphrey's 1972 Presidential 
campaign. He later served as political director of the 1976 Democratic 
National Convention and coordinated the ``Draft Ted Kennedy'' movement 
in 1980, roles that placed him squarely at the center of the party's 
most consequential internal battles of the era. He also served as an 
elected at-large member of the Democratic National Committee, DNC, for 
more than a decade and participated in the commissions that shaped 
Presidential nominating rules, leaving a durable mark on the party's 
institutional structure. At one point, he served as executive director 
of the DNC itself.
  As a speechwriter and political adviser, Siegel worked with some of 
the most prominent figures in American public life, drafting speeches 
for President Jimmy Carter, Vice Presidents Walter Mondale and Al Gore, 
Senator Ted Kennedy, and Senator Bill Bradley.
  During his tenure in the Carter White House, Siegel served as the 
administration's liaison to the American Jewish community. Remarkably, 
he was the first to propose a national memorial to the Holocaust, an 
idea that led directly to the creation of the President's Commission on 
the Holocaust and, 15 years later, the Holocaust Memorial Museum on the 
National Mall in Washington. Siegel continues to serve on the U.S. 
Holocaust Memorial Council, which acts as the governing board of 
trustees of the museum.
  The combination of Siegel's working-class roots, his faith, and his 
unrelenting commitment to human dignity meant that his focus was never 
constrained by the geographic borders of our country. Indeed, his reach 
extended far beyond them, as he served as a trusted confidant and 
writer for leading international figures, including Prime Minister 
Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan.
  Siegel's international profile also includes his long association 
with the National Democratic Institute, NDI, the nonprofit organization 
that promotes democratic governance around the world. He served on the 
NDI board for 15 years and chaired programs focused on political party 
development and election monitoring, with particular emphasis on Asia.
  Throughout his career, Siegel maintained a parallel life in academia. 
He taught political science and political management at American 
University, George Washington University, Loyola University Chicago, 
and New York University, bringing his practical experience in campaigns 
and party organization directly into the classroom.
  A committed advocate for civil liberties and electoral reform, Siegel 
has remained an active commentator and strategist within Democratic 
circles across decades of American political life. He contributed 
public analysis during major political moments, including the contested 
2000 Presidential election recount.
  Across roles spanning government, academia, and international 
affairs, Mark Siegel represents a rare continuity of engagement with 
Democratic politics from the reform era through the modern day. He has 
dedicated his life to the promise of America, striving every day to 
make it kinder, fairer, and stronger. Our Nation is better for the life 
and service of Mark Siegel--a proud resident of Delaware--and we are 
grateful for him.

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