Michael Dukakis

Michael Dukakis (1933- ) is an American politician. He served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979, and from 1983 to 1991. Dukakis was nominated for the Democratic Party ticket for presidency in the 1988 election, with Lloyd Bentsen, a senator from Texas as candidate for vice president. He lost to Republican candidate George H. W. Bush, partly due to Bush's portrayal of Dukakis as soft on crime, defense and too liberal for the American populace.

In 1990, he was not a candidate for re-election as governor, and he was succeeded by William Weld, a Republican. His cousin, Olympia Dukakis, is an Academy Award-winning actress.