Former U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Thomas J. Donohue died Monday at the age of 86, three years after stepping down as head of the powerful business group.
Donohue became head of the group in 1997 and built it up into a powerful lobbying force in Washington, D.C., with a statement from the Chamber of Commerce hailing him as having given “business a seat at the table and a voice in the debate in a way it never had before.”
“It is no exaggeration to say he resurrected the Chamber, taking the institution from good to great and from productive to powerful — and standing up for business from the nation’s capital to every corner of the globe,” the group said in a statement Monday.
“He never backed down from a fight that was necessary for a cause he believed in, leading the American business community and building the Chamber into the largest and most effective business…
