Governor Lincoln Chafee

Lincoln Chafee was sworn in as governor of Rhode Island on January 4, 2011. The son of a former Rhode Island governor and U.S. Senator, Chafee began his career working as a blacksmith at harness racetracks in Kentucky, Florida and Alberta, Canada. He was a delegate to the Rhode Island Constitutional Convention in 1985, served on the Warwick City Council for four years and became mayor of Warwick in 1992. In 1999, Chafee was appointed to the U.S. Senate and was elected in 2000. He served on the Foreign Relations Committee, Banking Committee and the Environment and Public Works Committee. Chafee was named the Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies from 2007-2009, during which time he wrote Against the Tide: How a Compliant Congress Empowered a Reckless President. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Classics from Brown University, where he received the Francis M. Driscoll Award for leadership, scholarship and athletics.