Ex-US Senator Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ pick for vice-president in 2000, dies at 82
- In 2018, Lieberman was hired by Chinese telecoms company ZTE as it tried to fend off US national security concerns
- Lieberman made history as first Jewish vice-presidential candidate for a major US party. He died after complications from a fall, his family said
Joe Lieberman, who made history as the first Jewish vice-presidential candidate for a major US party and lately returned to the spotlight as a leader of a push for a third candidate in the 2024 election, died on Wednesday, US media reported.
Lieberman died in New York City at the age of 82 “due to complications from a fall”, his family said in a statement carried by US media.
The Democrat-turned-independent, who was never shy about veering from the party line, was hired by Chinese telecommunications company ZTE in 2018.
A long-time senator from Connecticut, Lieberman was most famous for his role at the heart of one of the most tense US elections in history, when he ran for vice-president in Democrat Al Gore’s 2000 bid.
Gore lost amid dramatic scenes to then Texas governor George W Bush, with the decision coming down to a disputed vote count in Florida and a Supreme Court ruling ultimately giving Bush the electoral college majority.
Lieberman was the first Jew to be chosen on one of the country’s major party tickets.
He was famous for his independent streak in sharply divided Washington politics.
He unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 but was then considered seriously by Republican candidate John McCain as a running mate when he mounted his own failed bid for the presidency in the 2008 race won by Barack Obama.
