WASHINGTON, 22 December 2002 — Wayne Owens, 65, a former Utah congressman and longtime advocate for Middle East peace, was found dead Thursday in Israel, according to the State Department.
His body was found on a beach in Tel Aviv at about 9 p.m. local time, according to Stuart Patt, spokesman for the State Department’s Consular Affairs Bureau, who said Rep. Owens apparently died of natural causes. Rep. Owens was on business in the region.
Rep. Owens, a Democrat, served four terms in Congress, and was the current president of the Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation, a Washington-based group dedicated to fostering peace in the region.
He visited the region virtually every three months during the last five years of his service in Congress, usually accompanied by his close friend, Slim Fast Foods Chairman S. Daniel Abraham. In 1989, Rep. Owens and Abraham founded the Center for Middle East Peace.
Rep. Owens was first elected in 1972 and served as a member of the House Judiciary Committee, where he voted to impeach President Nixon, and was part of a group of freshman Democrats who forced a vote to end the Vietnam War.
He also worked as Western states coordinator in the Robert Kennedy’s presidential campaign in 1968 and served in the same position during the 1980 presidential campaign of Sen. Edward Kennedy. He also worked as Edward Kennedy’s administrative assistant from 1969 to 1971, when the senator was majority whip.
After leaving Congress, Rep. Owens returned to practicing law, pursuing his interests in the environment, and promoting the Center for Middle East Peace.
Rep. Owens died at the end of a visit to the region with Abraham and two members of Congress, Democratic Reps. Jim Davis of Florida and David Price of North Carolina. During the visit, the delegation met with leaders of Syria, Egypt, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Israel and representatives of the Palestinian Authority.
He is survived by his wife, Marlene, and five children.
