Zell Bryan Miller (24 February 1932-23 March 2018) was a member of the US Senate (D-GA) from 24 July 2000 to 3 January 2005, succeeding Paul Coverdell and preceding Johnny Isakson, having served as Governor of Georgia from 14 January 1991 to 11 January 1999 (succeeding Joe Frank Harris and preceding Roy Barnes).
Biography[]
Zell Bryan Miller was born in the small mountain town of Young Harris, Georgia, United States on 24 February 1932. He graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor's and master's degree in history, and he served in the US Marine Corps from 1953 to 1956, attaining the rank of Sergeant and transforming him from a troubled youth into a mature adult. From 1959 to 1960, Miller served as Mayor of Young Harris as a Southern Democrat, and he served two terms as a State Senator during the 1960s. In 1964 and 1966, he sought election to the US House of Representatives as a segregationist candidate, and he later became chief-of-staff for Governor Lester Maddox. In 1974, he was elected Lieutenant-Governor, serving from 1975 to 1991. In 1990, he defeated Republican Party member Johnny Isakson to become Governor of Georgia, with James Carville managing his campaign. Miller was a staunch promoter of public education, and he was originally pro-choice, but he later shifted his views to pro-life. He won re-election in 1994 as a cultural conservative, and his successor Roy Barnes appointed him to the US Senate to replace the late Paul Coverdell after he left office in 2000, as Miller was a conservative. During the 2000s, he began to praise the Republicans and frequently criticized the Democrats, but he swore to remain a Democrat until the day he died. He left the Senate in 2005, and he became a Fox News contributor and a law firm employee. He died in Young Harris on 23 March 2018.