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Richard Schultz Schweiker (born June 1, 1926) is a former U.S. Congressman and Senator representing the state of Pennsylvania. He later was Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Cabinet of President Ronald Reagan.
Schweiker was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania. He served aboard an
aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Following his military service he attended Pennsylvania State University where he received a bachelor's degree in 1950 and graduated Phi Beta Kappa.
Schweiker quickly rose through the business ranks becoming president of the American Olean Tile Company, the country's leading manufacturer of ceramic tile.
Schweiker was elected in 1960 to the U. S. House of Representatives from the 13th Congressional District in Pennsylvania. He served in the House of Representatives until 1968, when he won a seat in the U.S. Senate. He was re-elected to the Senate in 1974.
In 1976, Ronald Reagan named Schweiker as his running mate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. The team lost the nomination to the Gerald Ford/Bob Dole team. After later becoming President, Reagan appointed Schweiker Secretary of Health and Human Services in 1981, a position he held until 1983.
From 1983 to 1994, Schweiker served as President of the American Council of Life Insurance.
Schweiker is a distant relative of former Pennsylvania Governor Mark S. Schweiker.
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