Charlie Wilson (politician)

Charlie Wilson
Photo ca. 1995
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 2nd district
In office January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1997
Preceded by	John Dowdy
Succeeded by	Jim Turner
Member of the Texas Senate from District 3 (Lufkin)
In office 1967–1971
Preceded by	Martin Dies, Jr.
Succeeded by	Don Adams
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 6 (Trinity)
In office 1963–1967
Preceded by	Steve Burgess
Succeeded by	David Crews
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 18 (Trinity)
In office 1961–1963
Preceded by	William Winston
Succeeded by	David Crews
Personal details
Born	Charles Nesbitt Wilson (1933-06-01)June 1, 1933 Trinity, Texas, U.S.
Died	February 10, 2010(2010-02-10) (aged 76) Lufkin, Texas, U.S.
Resting place	Arlington National Cemetery Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Jerry Wilson (divorced) Barbara Alberstadt
Alma mater	United States Naval Academy, B.S. 1956
Occupation	Naval officer Congressman
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1956–1960
Rank	Lieutenant

Charles Nesbitt Wilson (June 1, 1933 – February 10, 2010) was an American politician and naval officer. He was a 12-term Democratic United States Representative from Texas's 2nd congressional district.

Wilson is best known for leading Congress into supporting Operation Cyclone, the largest-ever Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) covert operation under the Carter and Reagan administration.

His behind-the-scenes campaign was the subject of the non-fiction book Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History by George Crile III and the movie Charlie Wilson's War, starring Tom Hanks as Wilson.

Wilson died of cardiopulmonary arrest in Lufkin, Texas on February 10, 2010 at the age of 76.^[1]

References

1. Martin, Douglas (February 10, 2010). "Charlie Wilson, Texas Congressman Linked to Foreign Intrigue, Dies at 76". The New York Times. Retrieved February 10, 2010.

Other websites

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Charles Wilson Congressional Papers in the East Texas Research Center at Stephen F. Austin State University Archived 2015-10-02 at the Wayback Machine
• Charlie Wilson's War on IMDb.
• Charlie Wilson at Find a Grave
• Appearances on C-SPAN