Michael Thane Franken, also known as Michael Franken, is a retired American vice admiral.
His final position in the military was as the United States Africa Command’s deputy director of military operations. He was a Democratic contender for the U.S. Senate in Iowa in 2020. However, he was defeated by Theresa Greenfield in the June 2 primary. He is the Democratic candidate for Iowa’s seat in the United States Senate in 2022.
He was born in Iowa’s Sioux Center. Before graduating from the University of Nebraska’s College of Engineering on an ROTC scholarship and joining the US Navy in 1981, he studied at Morningside College and the Naval Science Institute.
He holds degrees from the College of Physics at the Naval Postgraduate School, Seminar XXI at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Brookings Institution’s legislative affairs program, the University of Virginia School of Executive Education, and the Business Leadership program at Babson College.
He was given guided missile destroyer operating duty as his early operational assignments.
Is Michael Franken Related To Al Franken?
No, Michael Franken and Al Franken share no similarities and connections regarding their families.
Alan Stuart Franken is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who represented Minnesota as a Senator in the United States Senate from 2009 to 2018. He rose to fame on Saturday Night Live’s long-running sketch comedy television program.
He worked as a writer and performer at SNL from the 1970s until the 1990s.
After working for years as a performer, he became a well-known liberal political activist and started presenting The Al Franken Show on Air America Radio. In one of the closest elections in Senate history, Franken was elected to the Senate in 2008 as the nominee of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota, a Democratic Party affiliate.
He defeated Senator Norm Coleman, the Republican incumbent, by 312 votes out of nearly three million cast ballots with a margin of just over 0.01%. In 2014, he won reelection with 53.2% of the vote, defeating Republican opponent Mike McFadden.
On January 2, 2018, Franken resigned due to allegations of misconduct and misbehavior.
In September 2019, the disgraced politician announced that he would return to comedy by presenting The Al Franken Show on SiriusXM radio on Saturday mornings. The show would cover politics, the 2020 presidential election, entertainment, and world event with his comedic bent.
Franken’s first live tour is stated to stop in 15 cities and started in September 2021. This is his first comedy-related show after he semi-retired from comedy while serving in the Senate.
Michael Franken’s Family Background
Michael Franken was born and raised in rural Sioux County, Iowa, adding to his homegrown mystique.
He was born the youngest of nine children and had a massive chip on his shoulder as far back as he could remember. He was born to a father who was a machinist and blacksmith and a mother who was a school teacher.
As such, he had a very traditional childhood, the kind romanticized in many mid-century novels and poems, and had nothing of note happen to him in his younger years. However, his whole life changed when an older brother of his urged him to join the United States Navy at 22.
He oversaw Task Group 152.0 and Destroyer Squadron 28 for the Eisenhower Strike Group as commodore.
He also held positions as the chief of staff at the U.S. Third Fleet, the deputy for military operations at the United States Africa Command, the flag officer in charge of plans and strategy at the United States Central Command for three years, and the executive assistant to the commander of Fleet Forces Command.
He served as the commander of the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) in Djibouti, Africa, from 2011 to 2012.
This force is in charge of overseeing American military operations throughout all of East Africa as well as on the islands in the Indian Ocean. He worked for the Office of the Secretary of the Navy in Washington, D.C., where he held a fellowship in congressional affairs.
From 2003 to 2005, he gave Secretary Donald Rumsfeld the global orders book and was the first military commander to work as a legislative fellow for Senator Ted Kennedy.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, a defense organization with 800 employees, is in charge of finding and reclaiming the remains of American soldiers in foreign conflicts.
Michael Franken Is An American Politician
Michael Franken declared his intention to seek the Democratic Party’s candidacy on August 26, 2019.
He would be vying for the Republican Party’s candidacy for the Iowa Senate seat now held by Joni Ernst.
One of the Democrats in the primary election on June 2 was Franken. Theresa Greenfield, the victor, was defeated by incumbent Ernst in the general election on November 3. On October 14, 2021, Franken said he would run for the Democratic Party’s candidacy for the open United States Senate seat in Iowa now held by Republican Party member Chuck Grassley.
In a significant shock, he beat former U.S. Representative Abby Finkenauer in the primary election.