Greg Parke (politician)

Gregory T. "Greg" Parke (b. January 29 1954, Boston, Massachusetts) is a retired United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel who was a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Vermont.

Early life

Parke grew up in the Vermont towns of Chester, Enosburgh Falls, and Fair Haven, where his father served as a school teacher and a principal. He graduated high school from Sanborn Seminary in Kingston, New Hampshire in 1972 and then went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the University of New Hampshire in 1977. While in college he was introduced to the writings of Austrian economist F.A. Hayek and Russian-American libertarian writer Ayn Rand, whose free market philosophy would later influence him in his political career.

Military career

Having participated in Reserve Officers' Training Corps during college, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force and was awarded a Presidential Saber. He became a pilot in 1979. He was an instructor pilot with the United States Air Force assigned to teach Saudi Arabian air force pilots from 1985-1987. Parke was assigned to the American embassy in Cairo, Egypt from 1995-1997 where he served as a TAFT (Tactical Air Force Team) Commander and diplomat. He retired from the United States Air Force on New Years Day 2000.

Political career

In 2002, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. House from Vermont, losing to William Meub.

In 2004, he was the Republican nominee for Vermont's at-large U.S. House seat, running as a fiscal and social conservative who emphasized the need for a strong national defense. Parke was a firm defender of the Bush Administration's War on Terrorism and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He lost the general election to incumbent Representative Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

In 2006, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate from Vermont, losing to Richard Tarrant.

Current activity

Parke is a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars and is an Advisory Council member of the Lyceum Society of Vermont, a forum for intellectual conservatives in Vermont.

In 2007 Parke formed Silver Skye, a contract pilot service company. He is also a pilot for ChartRight Air Group, a private charter jet company based out of Toronto, Canada.

He lives in Rutland City, Vermont with his wife Sharon. They have two children.

External links

* [http://ontheissues.org/Senate/Greg_Parke.htm OnTheIssues]
* [http://www.lyceumsociety.net/ Lyceum Society of Vermont]