Childhood & Early Life
Dan Coats was born Daniel Ray Coats, on May 16, 1943, in Jackson, Michigan, U.S., to Vera Elisabeth and Edward Raymond Coats. Dan was of English and German descent from his father’s side and of Swedish ancestry from his mother’s side. His maternal grandparents had emigrated from Sweden.
Dan was raised in a middle-class family and grew up with his brother, Peter E. Coats. He grew up in Jackson, attending local schools in and around the city. He joined the ‘Jackson High School’ in the late 1950s and graduated in 1961. While he was in high school, he developed an interest in academics and athletics. He played soccer and was part of the school team.
Following his high-school graduation, he moved to Wheaton, Illinois. There, he attended the ‘Wheaton College,’ a liberal arts college, and obtained a political science degree. He was a good student and scored good grades. Additionally, he was also part of the college soccer team.
Following his graduation, he joined the ‘United States Army Corps of Engineers’ in 1966. He served in the army until 1968. The country was in the midst of the Vietnam War during his army years. Once his service ended in 1968, he refocused on academics and began studying law at the ‘Indiana University School of Law.’ The institute is located in Indianapolis and is currently known as the ‘Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.’
He also served as the editor of the publication named ‘Indiana Law Review.’ In 1972, he graduated with a Juris Doctor. For some time after his graduation, he served as the assistant vice president of ‘Fort Wayne,’ a life insurance company. A few years later, in the mid-1970s, he made his official foray into the world of politics.
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Career
In the mid-1970s, Dan quit his insurance-company job and began working as the district representative of Dan Quayle, a ‘Republican’ representative of the 4th congressional district of Indiana. The ‘United States House of Representatives’ is the lower house of the ‘Congress.’ Dan Quayle decided to fight elections for a place in the senate. Making the best out of this opportunity, Dan fought for his place in the lower house and won the election.
In 1988, Dan Quayle was elected to be the vice president of the United States. Thus, his seat in the upper house of the ‘Congress’ was vacated. The same year, Dan was elected to his seat in the senate. He served in this position till 1999. Years later, in 2010, he announced that he would be again be running for a seat in the senate, from Indiana. He won this time, too.
As a senator, he exhibited complicated views on many issues, especially gun control, which has been a consistent political issue in the country. Dan has been in favor of gun control measures. He also supported the ‘Violent Crime Control Act of 1991.’ However, the act did not become a law. It stated that assault weapons must be banned and there must be a waiting period for the purchase of handguns.
In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the ‘Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act,’ which was later turned into a law. Dan had expressed his support for this act, too. The act imposed a waiting period on the delivery of guns to customers. Thus, he reflected the views of the ‘Democratic Party’ while being a ‘Republican.’
However, in April 2013, he voted against the bill that proposed a thorough inquiry into the backgrounds of gun purchasers.
He also had a complex stand on LGBT issues. He voted against President Clinton’s efforts to allow the LGBT community to serve in the armed forces. He also stood strongly against same-sex marriages. However, he opposed any interference that could have prevented them from living freely.
He was a strong aggravator of the U.S.–Russia conflict in the 2010s and urged President Barack Obama to punish Russia for the 2014 annexation of Crimea. In response to this, Russia banned Dan and many other U.S. senators from entering Russia.
He maintained a strict approach toward the Middle Eastern conflicts that the country was involved in. In 2003, he staunchly supported the invasion of Iraq. Later, in 2015, he raised his voice against Iran’s nuclear deal with six big countries, including the U.S.A.
Even after resigning from the senator’s position in 1999, he remained active in national politics. In 2001, he was one of President George Bush’s top choices to be appointed as the secretary of defense. However, he could not earn the position.
Later that year, he was appointed as the U.S. ambassador to Germany. He was instrumental in improving U.S. relations with the German opposition after the ruling government denied his request of not opposing the Iraq War. He also played a key role in the establishment of a new ‘United States Embassy’ in Berlin.
In January 2017, he was nominated by the president-elect, Donald Trump, as the director of national intelligence. In March 2017, he won the position by 85–12 votes and was officially sworn in to the office.
In July 2018, Dan released a statement, through which he affirmed that the U.S. general election of 2016 had had Russian interference. Later that year, he was accused of writing an anonymous article that was published in the ‘The New York Times.’ The article berated and criticized Trump harshly. Although the author remained anonymous, many speculated it was Dan who had written the article.
In January 2019, he raised strong concerns about the Russian interference in the U.S. elections. He appointed a “czar,” Shelby Pierson, whose main job was to monitor the security arrangements during the elections. Dan also issued instructions to other intelligence agencies to appoint executives to oversee the smooth completion of the elections without foreign interference.
Despite the fact that he was appointed by President Trump himself, Dan disagreed with Trump on many issues, such as the Russian interference in the U.S. elections and the president’s stand on Iran and North Korea. It was assumed that he could be fired from his job. The official announcement came from Trump himself, who “tweeted” that Dan’s term would end on August 15 that year.
It is assumed that his removal from the position had come after an intelligence inquiry into President Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian president. The controversial phone call had taken place on July 25, and Dan’s removal from his position was announced just 3 days later.
