Politics / Auto industry / Business & brands
George W. Romney
1907–1995 · automobile executive, governor of Michigan
Detroit auto-industry spokesman and American Motors chief who became Michigan's governor (1963–1969) and later U.S. housing secretary.
- Born
Colonia Dublán, Chihuahua, Mexico- Died
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
aged 88- Birth name
- George Wilcken Romney
- Detroit years
- 1939–1995
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
George Romney arrived in Detroit in 1939 to run the new Detroit office of the Automobile Manufacturers Association, and during World War II he spoke for the industry's war production. With labor leader Victor Reuther he led the Detroit Victory Council, which tried to ease wartime tensions after the 1943 race riot. He joined Nash-Kelvinator and in 1954 became head of American Motors, reviving the company with the compact Rambler. A devout Latter-day Saint, he led the church's Detroit congregation from 1944 and later its Detroit stake, and he campaigned for better Detroit schools. His nonpartisan Citizens for Michigan helped launch the 1961–62 state constitutional convention. As governor from 1963 to 1969, he dealt with the 1967 Detroit uprising and requested federal troops. After serving Nixon as housing secretary, he returned to Bloomfield Hills, where he died in 1995.
Highlights
- Chairman and president of American Motors, 1954–1962
- 43rd governor of Michigan, 1963–1969
- U.S. secretary of housing and urban development, 1969–1973
- Co-led the wartime Detroit Victory Council with Victor Reuther
- Vice president of Michigan's 1961–62 constitutional convention
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Worked here · 1954–1962
American Motors headquarters (Plymouth Road)
Closed · 1954–1987
AMC, formed from Nash-Kelvinator and Hudson, was run from Detroit's West Side while he led it; the company was absorbed by Chrysler in 1987.