Paul Hillegonds

Paul C. Hillegonds (born March 4, 1949) was a Republican member of the Michigan House of Representatives. He served as co-speaker with Democrat Curtis Hertel from 1993 until 1994.

The Honorable

Paul C. Hillegonds
65th Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives
In office
January 13, 1993 – December 30, 1996
Serving with Curtis Hertel (1993–1994)
Preceded byLew Dodak
Succeeded byCurtis Hertel
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives
from the 88th district
54th District (1979–1992)
In office
January 1, 1979 – December 31, 1996
Preceded byEdgar Fredricks
Succeeded byPatricia L. Birkholz
Personal details
Born (1949-03-04) March 4, 1949
Holland, Michigan
Political partyRepublican
Alma materUniversity of Michigan (B.A.)
Thomas Cooley Law School

Hillegonds received his bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

Hillegonds was first elected to the state house in 1978, beginning his service in 1979. He previously had been a legislative aid and campaign chairman for U.S. Representative Philip Ruppe.[1] He was the leader of the Republicans in the house beginning in 1987. He served as speaker of the house from 1995-1996, after having been co-speaker for one term.[2]

In 1997 Hillegonds left the legislature to become president of Detroit Renaissance. He remained in this position for nine years. In 2006 he was a co-leader of 'One United Michigan the main group opposed to the end of affirmative action on the ballot at the time.[3]

Hillegonds now works as the director of government relations for DTE Energy.[4]

In early 2013 Hillegonds was appointed director of the newly formed Southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority.[5]

Origin of the name Hillegonds

The name Hillegonds is originally Dutch.[6] It is a matronymic and stands for "the child of Hillegond", a variant of the name Hildegonde. The family name probably does not occur any more in The Netherlands.[7]

Sources
  • Daniel Loepp. Sharing the Balance of Power: An Examinnation of Shared Power in the Michigan House of Representatives, 1993-94. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1999.
  • Forbes bio of Hillegonds

Notes
  1. Public Sector Consultants bio of Hillegonds
  2. Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce bio of Hillegonds Archived 2013-02-15 at Archive.today
  3. Model D article on Hillegonds
  4. Motor Cities bio of Hillegonds
  5. Detroit Free Press Jan. 17, 2013
  6. "Hillegonds - Ancestry.com". search.ancestry.com. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
  7. "No persons found of this family name in Phonedirectory of the Netherlands". Telefoonboek.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2017-06-26.
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