Series

Oral history interview with Victor Atiyeh

• 1992-11-24 - 1998-06-11 (Creation)

.2 cubic feet 64 audiocassettes (62 hr., 21 min., 10 sec.) + transcript (1699 pages) + 1 photograph (color)

This oral history interview with Victor Atiyeh was conducted by Clark Hansen at Atiyeh's office in Portland, Oregon, from November 24, 1992, to September 10, 1993, and on June 11, 1998. The interview was conducted as part of the Oregon Legislature Oral History Series, which was a series of interviews conducted with people involved in Oregon government. The interview was conducted in forty-two sessions.

In sessions 1 and 2, Atiyeh discusses his family background and early life, including his Syrian heritage and his education, as well as his marriage to Delores Hewitt. In sessions 3 through 5, Atiyeh discusses his service in the Oregon House of Representatives from 1959 to 1964. In sessions 6 through 15, he discusses his service in the Oregon Senate from 1965 to 1979, and his 1974 campaign for governor. In sessions 16 and 17, he discusses his 1978 campaign for Oregon governor. In sessions 18 through 23, he discusses his first term as governor from 1979 to 1982. In sessions 24 through 26, he talks about his 1982 re-election campaign. In sessions 27 through 38, he discusses his second term as governor, from 1983 to 1987. In sessions 39 through 42, he reflects on his achievements as governor, and discusses Republican politics since he left elected office.

Copyright to interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following license: Creative Commons, BY-NC-SA: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/. Copyright to photograph has not been determined, and permission for use may require authorization from copyright holders.

• English

Related collections at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library include: the Victor Atiyeh papers, Mss 1450; the Victor Atiyeh photographic collection, Org. Lot 812; and an additional oral history interview with Atiyeh, SR 2996-1.

Preferred citation: Oral history interview with Victor Atiyeh, by Clark Hansen, SR 1135, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Forms part of the Oregon Legislature Oral History Series.

Handwritten index (117 pages) is available for in-person use at the Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition.

Sarah Stroman

• Governors--Oregon
• Legislation--Oregon
• Legislators--Oregon
• Political campaigns--Oregon
• Syrian Americans--Oregon
• Taxation--Law and legislation--Oregon
• Oregon--Politics and government--20th century

• Hansen, Clark (Contributor)
• Oregon. Legislative Assembly (Subject)
• Republican Party (Or.) (Subject)

• Interviews
• oral histories (literary works)