Lee Atwater

Lee Atwater (b. 1951, d. 1991) was a Republican political strategist and consultant. He is known for his role in the presidential campaigns of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. He was a principal architect of the Republican Party's successful Southern Strategy. When he was dying of cancer, Atwater apologized to some of the people hurt by his campaign tactics, including Michael Dukakis.

Source: Brady, John. 1997. Bad Boy: The Life and Politics of Lee Atwater. Addison Wesley.