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Two years ago, former U.S. Senator Gordon Humphrey (R-N.H.) gave up his chair at Daniel Webster's original desk in the Capitol to seek his fortune in front of a computer on a farm in the New Hampshire countryside.

After spending 12 years at the center of national political power, Humphrey is forging a new career in private business as an international trade consultant with special emphasis on the former Soviet republics. His interest in doing business in Russia is indeed a grand turnaround for a cold warrior who a few years ago had promised reporters to use his "desk on the floor of the United States Senate as a weapon against Soviet tyranny."

"Times have changed, and we must move with them," Humphrey shrugs. "Russia is no longer the Evil Empire. The people are well educated and hard workers. This country is the richest in the world in terms of oil, gas, and minerals of all kinds, including precious metals. Once they get their system reorganized, I think their standard of living will rise rapidly. It will be a very lucrative market."

A commercial airline pilot who was elected in 1978, Humphrey fulfilled a long-standing promise to voters not to seek a third term in 1990. Because he didn't look forward to a life of hanging around the bars and backrooms of Washington as a lobbyist, Humphrey found himself in a position not unlike many in these days of corporate layoffs and economic uncertainty. He was looking for what amounted to a third career at age 50.

Having served on both the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees, Humphrey thought international trade would be a natural extension of his Washington experience that would fulfill his continuing interest in world affairs. He also reasoned that such a business would not require much start-up capital.

Humphrey rounded his consulting business--The Humphrey Group, Inc.--with modest savings and a vision to help smaller U.S. companies get into exporting. "I figured all I needed was a couple of telephone lines, a fax machine, and a computer," Humphrey says.

# posted by Medical Information : 4:01 AM