Former congressman and Arkansas governor Jim Guy Tucker passed away on Thursday, following a battle with ulcerative colitis. He was 81.
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According to Arkansas Times, Tucker died weeks after he entered hospice care.
Tucker was involved in politics for nearly 20 years. He first entered the political sector in 1973 as the Attorney General of Arkansas. From 1977 to 1979, he was a U.S. House of Representatives member, representing Arkansas’ second district.
A little more than a decade later, he became the 15th Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas before replacing Bill Clinton as the state’s 43rd Governor. He held the position from Dec. 1992 until July 1996, when he resigned after he was convicted of fraud during the Whitewater affair.
After leaving the political world, Jim Guy Tucker established a cable television company in Indonesia alongside his wife, Betty Allen, and James Riady. Despite the company nearly going bankrupt during the Indonesian financial and political crisis, Tucker and Riady created a new company, Kabelvision, which expanded systems in Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bali. The company then merged to become AcrossAsia Multimedia Ltd in 2000. He was also involved in other telecommunication projects.
Tucker dealt with health struggles for the majority of his life. During his time as a student at Harvard, he was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, Primary sclerosing cholangitis, causing problems with his liver. He nearly died from gastrointestinal bleeding in 1994. He received a liver transplant in 1996.
In the 2000s, the Tuckers participated in philanthropic programs in Hong Kong. He was also a “performer” and was seen tap dancing at Frank Newell’s funeral in 2021.
He is survived by his wife, Betty, stepson Lance Alworth Jr.; three daughters, Anna Tucker Ashton, Sarah Allen Tucker, and Kelly Alworth; and sister, Carol Tucker Foreman.