George Thomas (Mickey) Leland

Congressman Mickey Leland represented Texas 18th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1979 until his death on August 7, 1989 (96th-101st Congresses). A Democrat and anti-poverty activist, Leland was known for his advocacy on hunger and health care. Before Congress, he served three terms in the Texas House of Representatives. Leland made the issues of homelessness and hunger the centerpieces of his advocacy in Congress. He co-authored legislation with U.S. Rep. Ben Gilman (R-New York) to establish the House Select Committee on Hunger (chair, 98th-101st Congresses). Likewise, he initiated several programs designed to address the famine crises that plagued Ethiopia and Sudan in the 1980s. Leland was a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Subcommittees on Telecommunications and Finance, Health and the Environment, and Energy and Power. He also chaired the Subcommittee on Postal Operations and Services and served on the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service and the Subcommittee on Compensation and Employment. His life and advocacy were cut short when he died tragically in a plane crash in Ethiopia in 1989. Leland earned a degree in pharmacy from Texas Southern University.