1933- . US Democrat politician, governor of
Massachusetts 1974-78 and from 1982,
presiding over a high-tech economic boom, the
`Massachusetts miracle'. He was a
presidential candidate in 1988. Dukakis was
born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of
Greek immigrants. After studying law at
Harvard and serving in Korea (1955-57), he
concentrated on a political career in his
home state. Elected as a Democrat to the
Massachusetts legislature in 1962, he became
state governor in 1974. After an unsuccessful
first term, marred by his unwillingness to
compromise, he was defeated in 1978. He
returned as governor in 1982, committed to
working in a more consensual manner, was
re-elected in 1986, and captured the
Democratic Party's presidential nomination in
1988. After a poor campaign, the diligent but
uncharismatic Dukakis was defeated by the
incumbent vice president George Bush. His
standing in Massachusetts dropped and he
announced that he would not seek a new term.