Donald K. Sundquist was born in Moline, Illinois in 1936. He graduated from Augustana College. He was a member of the United States Navy for two years. He started his own printing and advertising firm in Memphis. Sundquist was involved in the Shelby County Republican Party and eventually became its chairman from 1976 to 1979. He managed the presidential campaign of Senator Howard Baker Jr. in 1979.
Sundquist won election to the U.S. House, representing the 7th District from 1983 to 1995. He served two terms as a Republican governor of Tennessee from 1995 to 2003. Sundquist promoted ideas such as compassionate welfare reform legislation, stricter law enforcement measures, and prudence in government expenditures.
Donald Sundquist’s papers are stored in approximately 200 linear feet of boxes.