Pierre Samuel "Pete" du Pont IV (January 22, 1935 – May 8, 2021) was an American attorney, businessman, and politician from Rockland, in New Castle County, Delaware, near Wilmington. He was the United States representative for Delaware from 1971 to 1977 and the 68th governor of Delaware from 1977 to 1985. He was a member of the Republican Party.
Early life and family
Pierre Samuel du Pont IV was born on January 22, 1935, in Wilmington, Delaware. A member of the Du Pont family, he was the son of Pierre Samuel du Pont III and Jane Holcomb du Pont, grandson of Lammot du Pont II, and great nephew of Pierre S. du Pont, the developer of Longwood Gardens. After education at Phillips Exeter Academy, Princeton University, and Harvard Law School, he served in the U.S. Naval Reserve (Seabees) from 1957 until 1960. He was married to Elise Ravenel Wood and has four children, Elise, Pierre V, Ben, and Eleuthère.
Professional and political career
From 1963 until 1970 du Pont was employed by E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. In 1968, he was elected unopposed to the 12th district seat in the Delaware House of Representatives, which he held until 1971. He seriously considered a bid for a United States Senate seat in 1972 (eventually won by Democrat Joe Biden), and initially faced a likely primary election against former U.S. Representative Harry G. Haskell Jr. He then bowed out in accordance with the wish of Republican leaders, including President Richard Nixon, to have a reluctant incumbent U.S. Senator J. Caleb Boggs seek a third term.
U.S. House of Representatives
In 1970 du Pont was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating Democrat John D. Daniello, a New Castle County Councilman and labor leader. He won election to the U.S. House of Representatives two more times, defeating Democrats Norma Handloff in 1972 and University of Delaware professor James R. Soles in 1974. In Congress, du Pont supported an attempt to limit presidential authority through the War Powers Act of 1973, but was one of the last to remain loyal to U.S. President Richard M. Nixon during the impeachment process.
Governor of Delaware
Du Pont did not seek another term in the U.S. House of Representatives and instead ran for Governor of Delaware in 1976, defeating incumbent Democratic Governor Sherman W. Tribbitt. He was elected to a second term as governor in 1980, defeating Democratic State House leader William J. Gordy, and served two terms from January 18, 1977, until January 15, 1985.
As Governor, du Pont signed into law two income tax reduction measures and a constitutional amendment that restrained future tax increases and limited government spending. The Wilmington News Journal praised these policies, saying that du Pont "revived [the] business climate and set the stage for [Delaware's] prosperity". In 1979, he founded the nonprofit "Jobs for Delaware Graduates", an employment counseling and job placement program for high school seniors not bound for college. This program was the model for other programs currently functioning in many states and foreign countries.
In 1981, Du Pont helped establish the credit card industry in Delaware, in a race against South Dakota, which the year before had abolished its usury law limiting the interest rates that banks can charge consumers for credit. At the time, du Pont's cousin Nathan Hayward III advocated that tiny Delaware aspire to become the "financial Luxembourg of America" – a tax haven for corporations, yacht owners, and credit card companies permitted to charge unlimited interest. Former Du Pont Chairman Irving S. Shapiro, then a lobbyist for Citicorp, helped Gov. du Pont pass the Financial Center Development Act in 1981 with the cooperation of the leadership of both parties and others in state and local government. Intended to attract two New York state banks that would hire at least 1,000 employees, the law eventually drew more than thirty banks to Delaware, creating 43,000 new finance-related jobs and leading the state away from its previous dependence on the chemical industry in general and the Du Pont Company in particular.
