Since 1982, The Jefferson Islands Club has conferred the Citizen of the Year award upon Government leaders who overcome challenges through bipartisanship.
George H. W. Bush
1982 Inaugural Citizen of the Year
Then Vice President George H.W. Bush was the Jefferson Islands Club Inaugural Citizen of the Year in 1982. He later served as the 41st President of the United States from 1989 to 1993.
Larry Hogan
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2021 Citizen of the Year
Lawrence Joseph Hogan Jr. is the 62nd governor of Maryland. A member of the Republican Party, and served as Chair of the National Governors Association from 2019 to 2020.
Ben Cardin
2021 Citizen of the Year
Benjamin Louis Cardin is the senior United States Senator from Maryland, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was the U.S. representative for Maryland's 3rd district from 1987 to 2007.
Andrew R. Wheeler
2020 Citizen of the Year
Andrew R. Wheeler is the 15th Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Roy Blunt
2019 Citizen of the Year
Roy Dean Blunt is a Senator from Missouri, serving since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a member of the United States House of Representatives.
Cedric Richmond
2018 Co-Citizen of the Year
Cedric Levon Richmond is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who has been the U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 2nd congressional district since 2011.
Steve Scalise
2018 Co-Citizen of the Year
Stephen Joseph Scalise is an American politician who is the United States House of Representatives Minority Whip and representative for Louisiana's 1st congressional district, serving since 2008.
Ryan Zinke
2017 Citizen of the Year
Ryan Keith Zinke served as United States Secretary of the Interior from 2017 to 2019. He previously served as the U.S. Representative for Montana's at-large congressional district from 2015 to 2017.
Kevin Brady
2016 Citizen of the Year
Kevin Patrick Brady is the U.S. Representative for Texas's 8th congressional district, serving since 1997. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Martin Heinrich
2015 Co-Citizen of the Year
Martin Trevor Heinrich is an American politician and businessman serving as the junior United States Senator from New Mexico since 2013.
Cory Gardner
2015 Co-Citizen of the Year
Cory Scott Gardner has been Senator for Colorado since 2015. A Republican, he was the U.S. Representative from 2011 to 2015 and a member of the Colorado House from 2005 to 2011.
Bill Shuster
2014 Co-Citizen of the Year
William Franklin Shuster is an American politician and lobbyist who served as the U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district from 2001 to 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Joe Manchin, III
2014 Co-Citizen of the Year
Joseph Manchin III has been a Senator from West Virginia since 2010. A Democratic, he was the 34th governor of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010 and the 27th secretary of state of West Virginia from 2001 to 2005.
Dave Camp
2013 Citizen of the Year
David Lee Camp is a former American politician from Michigan who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2015.
Paul Ryan
2012 Co-Citizen of the Year
Paul Davis Ryan is an American retired politician who served as the 54th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from October 2015 to January 2019.
Ron Wyden
2012 Co-Citizen of the Year
Ronald Lee Wyden is the senior United States Senator for Oregon since 1996. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the House from 1981 until 1996.
Saxby Chambliss
2011 Co-Citizen of the Year
Clarence Saxby Chambliss was a United States Senator from Georgia from 2003 to 2015. As a member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a Representative from 1995 to 2003.
Mark Warner
2011 Co-Citizen of the Year
Mark Robert Warner has been a Senator from Virginia since 2008. He is a member of the Democratic Party and former Governor of Virginia.
Lisa Murkowski
2010 Citizen of the Year
Lisa Ann Murkowski is an American politician serving as the senior United States Senator from Alaska, having held that seat since 2002. She is the second most senior Republican woman in the Senate.
Mary Landrieu
2009 Co-Citizen of the Year
Mary Loretta Landrieu is an American politician, entrepreneur, and former Senator for the state of Louisiana. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Born in Arlington, Virginia, Landrieu was raised in New Orleans,
James L. Jones, Jr
2009 Co-Citizen of the Year
James Logan Jones Jr. is a retired Marine Corps general and former United States National Security Advisor. He was the Commandant of the Marine Corps from July 1999 to January 2003.
Collin Peterson
2008 Co-Citizen of the Year
Collin Clark Peterson is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Minnesota's 7th congressional district since 1991.
Howard Coble
2008 Co-Citizen of the Year
John Howard Coble was a U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 6th congressional district, serving from 1985 to 2015. He was a member of the Republican Party.
Steny H. Hoyer
2007 Citizen of the Year
Steny Hamilton Hoyer has been Representative for Maryland's 5th congressional district since 1981 and as House Majority Leader since 2019. A Democrat, he was first elected in 1981, and is currently serving in his 20th term.
Jeff Bingaman
2006 Co-Citizen of the Year
Jesse “Jeff” Bingaman Jr. served as a United States Senator from New Mexico from 1983 to 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Pete Domenici
2006 Co-Citizen of the Year
Pietro Vichi Domenici was an American attorney and politician from New Mexico. A Republican, Domenici served six terms in the United States Senate, from 1973 to 2009, the longest tenure in the state's history.
Duncan Hunter
2005 Citizen of the Year
Duncan Lee Hunter (born May 31, 1948) is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the House of Representatives from California's 52nd, 45th and 42nd districts from 1981 to 2009.
Joe Barton
2004 Citizen of the Year
Joe Linus Barton is a Republican politician who represented Texas's 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 to 2019.
James M. Inhofe
2003 Citizen of the Year
James Mountain Inhofe is a senior United States Senator from Oklahoma, a seat he was first elected to in 1994. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the Senate Armed Services Committee, among others.
Ted Stevens
2002 Citizen of the Year
Theodore Fulton Stevens Sr. was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Alaska from 1968 to 2009. He was the longest-serving Republican U.S. Senator in history at the time he left office.
W.J. "Billy" Tauzin
2001 Citizen of the Year
Wilbert Joseph Tauzin II is an American lobbyist and politician. He was President and CEO of PhRMA, a pharmaceutical company lobby group. Tauzin was also a member of the House from 1980 to 2005.
John Breaux
1999 Co-Citizen of the Year
John Berlinger Breaux was a member of the United States Senate from Louisiana from 1987 until 2005. He was also a member of the US House of Representatives from 1972 to 1987.
Thad Cochran
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1999 Co-Citizen of the Year
William Thad Cochran was a Senator for Mississippi from 1978 to 2018. A Republican, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1973 to 1978.
John Dingle, Jr
1998 Citizen of the Year
John David Dingell Jr. served in the House of Representatives from 1955 until 2015. A Democrat, he is the longest-ever serving member of Congress in history, representing Michigan for more than 59 years.
Trent Lott
1997 Citizen of the Year
Chester Trent Lott Sr. served in numerous leadership positions in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. He represented Mississippi in the House for 16 years before serving another 18 years as a Senator.
Bill Emerson
1996 Citizen of the Year
Norvell William Emerson of Missouri served in the House from 1981 until his death from lung cancer in Bethesda, Maryland in 1996. He was succeeded in the House by his widow, Jo Ann Emerson.
Don Young
1995 Citizen of the Year
Donald Edwin Young is currently serving in his 24th term in the House, having served since 1973. A member of the Republican Party, he is the longest-serving member of the House.
Robert C Byrd
1994 Citizen of the Year
Robert Carlyle Byrd served as a United States Senator from West Virginia for over 51 years, from 1959 until his death in 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrd previously served as a U.S. Representative from 1953 until 1959.
Jack Brooks
1993 Citizen of the Year
Jack Bascom Brooks was a Democrat from Texas who served 42 years in the House of Representatives from 1953 to 1995. For over fifteen years, he was the dean of the Texas congressional delegation.
Jamie Whitten
1991 Citizen of the Year
Jamie Lloyd Whitten was a Democrat from Mississippi in the House from 1941 to 1995. He was at the time of his departure the longest-serving Representative ever and the second-longest serving member of Congress.
Dick Cheney
1990 Citizen of the Year
Richard "Dick" Cheney is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He has been cited as the most powerful vice president in American history.
Dan Rostenkowski
1989 Citizen of the Year
Daniel David Rostenkowski was a United States Representative from Chicago, serving from 1959 to 1995. He became one of the most powerful legislators in Washington, especially in matters of taxation.
Dante Fascell
1987 Citizen of the Year
Dante Bruno Fascell was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Florida from 1955 to 1993.
Claude Pepper
1986 Citizen of the Year
Claude Denson Pepper represented Florida in the United States Senate from 1936 to 1951 and the Miami area in the United States House of Representatives from 1963 until 1989.
Jim Wright
1985 Citizen of the Year
James Claude Wright Jr. served as the 48th Speaker of the House from 1987 to 1989. He represented Texas's 12th congressional district as a Democrat from 1955 to 1989.
John Tower
1984 Citizen of the Year
John Goodwin Tower was an American politician, serving as a Republican United States Senator from Texas from 1961 to 1985. He was the first Republican Senator elected from Texas since Reconstruction.
Caspar Weinberger
1983 Citizen of the Year
Caspar "Cap" Weinberger was a prominent Republican, he served in a variety of state and federal positions for three decades, including Chairman of the California Republican Party, 1962–68.
George H.W. Bush
1982 Inaugural Citizen of the Year
Then Vice President, George H.W. Bush was the Jefferson Islands Club inaugural Citizen of the Year in 1982. He later served as the 41st President of the United States from 1989 to 1993.