Mark Begich - Early Life, Education, and Early Political Career

Early Life, Education, and Early Political Career

Begich was born in Anchorage at the old Providence Hospital, and is the first person born in Anchorage to be elected as the city's mayor. He is the son of Margaret Jean "Pegge" (née Jendro) and former U.S. Representative Nick Begich, who disappeared (and was declared legally dead) in October 1972 during a flight from Anchorage to Juneau with then House Majority Leader Hale Boggs. The fourth child of six children, he has two sisters and three brothers. His paternal grandparents were Croatian; his paternal grandfather John Begich immigrated to the United States from Austria–Hungary (today Croatia) in 1911. His mother had Polish and Dutch ancestry. He attended Steller Secondary School in Anchorage. Begich has taken continuing education classes at University of Alaska Anchorage without graduating. As of 2009, Begich is the only U.S. Senator without a college degree. During the 1988 Legislative Session, Begich worked as a legislative aide for State Representative Dave Donley.

Begich was elected to the Anchorage Assembly in 1988, at age 26, and served until 1998, including three years as chairman and two as vice chairman. In 1989, Begich led the opposition to the sale of the municipally-owned Anchorage Telephone Utility (ATU) to private interests. ATU was eventually sold in 1999 (after Begich had left the Assembly). Begich was also one of the chief sponsors of the introduction of photo radar.

Begich served for a number of years on the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education, including as its chair. In 2001, Governor Tony Knowles appointed Begich to the University of Alaska Board of Regents, but the Legislature did not confirm the appointment.