[NOVEMBER 11, 1915–]

U.S. senator

For nineteen of his thirty-one years as a U.S. senator, William Proxmire made repeated and frequent speeches calling for Senate ratification of the United Nations (UN) Genocide Convention. Representing Wisconsin in the Senate from 1957 to 1989, Senator Proxmire began his prolonged campaign for the Convention in January 1967 at the urging of Milwaukee lawyer Bruno Bitker (1899–1984). Calling the Senate's failure to approve the treaty a "national shame," Proxmire committed himself to "speak day after day in this body to remind the Senate of our failure to act and of the necessity for prompt action" (Power, 2002, p. 79). From this point forward he took a personal responsibility for this issue and persisted for two decades until he prevailed.

As a U.S. senator, William ("Bill") Proxmire was best known for his work on the Senate Banking and Appropriations Committees. Over the...