George J. Mitchell

For musician see George Mitchell (musician), for billionaire see George P. Mitchell

George John Mitchell, GBE (born August 20, 1933) was a United States Senator from Maine from 1980 to 1995. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was an attorney from the 1960s. In 1974 he won the Democratic nomination for governor of Maine but lost in the general election to independent candidate James B. Longley. He was later a federal judge until he was appointed to the Senate in May 1980 by the governor of Maine, Joseph Brennan, when Edmund Muskie resigned to become U.S. Secretary of State.

He was elected to a full term in the Senate in 1982, reelected in 1988 and did not run for reelection in 1994. He rose quickly in the Senate Democratic leadership, serving as Deputy President pro tempore from 1987 to 1988. He then served as Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995. Since 1995 he has been active in the Northern Ireland peace process. He has frequently been mentioned in the past in conjunction with potential appointment for the position of Commissioner of Baseball, but nothing to accomplish this has ever been effected.

He is the Chancellor of Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, and namesake of the George J. Mitchell Scholarship , which sponsors graduate study for twelve Americans each year in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

On March 4, 2004, he was named Chairman of the Walt Disney Company following a 43% dissention in the reelection of Michael Eisner, though the decision to replace Eisner had been made ahead of time.