January 3, 1997

Howell T. Heflin, a Democratic senator from Alabama, concluded the last of his three terms in the U.S. Senate on this day. Heflin, a native of Georgia and son of a Methodist minister, entered politics in 1970 when he was elected chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. He declined to seek re-election, and in 1977 returned to private law practice in Tuscumbia. In 1978, however, he ran successfully for the Senate, defeating, among others, Gov. George Wallace. In the Senate, Heflin served on the Agriculture, Commerce and Judiciary committees, and chaired the Ethics Committee. On the Judiciary Committee, notably, he voted against the nomination of Alabamian Jeff Sessions to become a federal judge. Overall, Heflin developed a reputation for bipartisanship, humor and independence. He was progressive on civil rights issues and conservative on defense. Because of failing health, Heflin did not seek re-election in 1996 and returned to Tuscumbia. He died in 2005.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Howell Heflin campaigned for the Democratic nomination to the U.S. Senate in 1978 against then-governor George C. Wallace. Heflin won the election and remained in the Senate until 1997. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of The Birmingham News)

Berry arrived in Washington as a xxxxx for Sen. Howell Heflin (1921-2005), who had said he wanted his staff to “look like (Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Birmingham Public Library Archives)

President Reagan and Howell Heflin, Oct. 27, 1981. (Reagan Library, Karl Schumacher, Wikipedia)

Justices of the Alabama Supreme Court, Nov. 27, 1973. Front row, left to right: Robert B. Harwood; Pelham J. Merrill; Howell Heflin; James S. Coleman Jr.; and James N. Bloodworth. Back row, left to right: James H. Faulkner; Hugh Maddox; Daniel T. McCall Jr.; and Richard L. Jones. (Alabama Department of Archives and History)

In 1979, Howell T. Heflin succeeded Sen. John J. Sparkman to represent Alabama in the U.S. Senate, where he served as chairman of the Select Committee on Ethics. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of United States Army)

Howell Heflin Memorial at the War Memorial, Colbert County Courthouse, Sept. 23, 2007. (Dailynetworks, Wikipedia)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.