Zell served as the 79th Governor of Georgia from Senator Paul Coverdell. Zell was later elected to serve the remaining four years of that term. He chose not to seek reelection and retired from the U. In a statement, he said the former governor had been treated for Parkinson's disease and died peacefully at his home in the tiny north Georgia town of Young Harris.
Zell Miller served as governor of Georgia from to During that time he established the HOPE Helping Oustanding Pupils Educationally Scholarship that is still a primary source of funding for aspiring college students to this day and is also used to fund the state's pre-kindergarten program.
The program has aided more than 1. More: Ex-senator Zell Miller gives split-ticket endorsement in Georgia. This searchable database identifies former governors by state and dates of service. The governors' biographies available on the NGA website provide summary biographical information only and are edited infrequently.
Recent Georgia Governors. Roy E. Barnes January 11, - January 13, Learn More. Search For Former Governors This searchable database identifies former governors by state and dates of service. In Miller ran for governor. Miller and Young were ultimately forced into a runoff, from which Miller emerged as the Democratic nominee.
As a candidate Miller focused on education and pledged that he would only serve one term if elected governor. In the general election, he beat his Republican opponent, state senator Johnny Isakson, by more than , votes.
As governor, Miller campaigned to establish a state lottery. He supported legislation that restricted lottery proceeds to funding for pre-kindergarten programs, capital and technology enhancements for Georgia schools, and most significant, the HOPE Scholarship program. HOPE scholarships provide full tuition at any state college or university to any Georgia resident who graduates from high school with at least a B average.
In voters ratified the lottery amendment, and the lottery-funded programs were launched in Miller also signed legislation that gave Georgia the toughest repeat offender sentencing guidelines in the nation.
Miller and Clinton seemed to be natural allies—both were active, moderate governors of southern states who had won office by promising to improve education. Further, they shared political advisors. After Clinton won the presidential primary in Georgia, he invited Miller to give one of the three keynote speeches at the Democratic National Convention. Later that year, Miller again actively campaigned for Clinton, who carried Georgia in his win of the November presidential election.
In spite of his accomplishments, Miller had made political enemies. He had tried, unsuccessfully, to have the Confederate battle emblem removed from the state flag. Finally, the fact that Miller had retreated on his pledge to serve only one term as governor irked some voters. His Republican opponent in was Guy Millner, a millionaire who was willing to spend his own fortune to finance his campaign. Miller ultimately prevailed but only by a narrow margin—he received During his second term as governor, Miller continued his efforts to improve all levels of education in Georgia by making investments in technology, buildings, and human resources.
In the last year of his governorship, he secured private funding to distribute classical music CDs to the family of every baby born in the state. At the time, research indicated that playing classical music to newborns may increase their intelligence.
Miller also ordered state agencies to make budget cuts and redistributions—unusual for a state in good financial shape. His reasoning was that state agencies likely had become wasteful in their spending during the prosperous s. Miller left office in early with an 85 percent approval rating from Georgians—a record high for a Georgia governor and a rating that made him the most popular governor in the nation.
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