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
In office
January 1, 1979 – December 31, 1996
Preceded byEdgar Fredricks
Succeeded byPatricia L. Birkholz
Constituency54th district (1979–1992)
88th district (1993–1996)
Personal details
Born (1949-03-04) March 4, 1949
Holland, Michigan
Political partyRepublican
Alma materUniversity of Michigan (B.A.)
Thomas Cooley Law School

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.

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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