Portrait of retired state Rep. Calvin Smyre of Columbus now hangs in the Georgia Capitol

Retired state Rep. Calvin Smyre of Columbus made history as the longest-serving member of the Georgia House of Representatives, and now his likeness will grace the state Capitol for years to come.

Lawmakers unveiled his official portrait Tuesday.

There are 233 portraits, sculptures and other memorials celebrating notable Georgians at the Capitol, but Smyre is the first from Columbus and only the seventh African American with such a distinction.

“I am grateful beyond words to see this happen in my lifetime,” Smyre said after his former colleagues spent more than an hour sharing praise and humorous and endearing stories about him on the floor of the House.

Moments later, he helped pull the cover off the portrait, which hangs next to a passage to the chamber.

Columbus artist Steven Tette painted his portrait using several photographs. The painting depicts Smyre seated in a dark suit, his hands clasped in front of him, a slight smile crossing his face. The crowd was pleased.

Smyre was 26 in 1974 when he was elected as a Democrat to the Georgia House. He served 48 years until 2022, stepping down at age 74. He’d planned to serve 50 years, but President Joe Biden had nominated him as U.S. ambassador to the Dominican Republic.

But he would not take that post. The U.S. Senate never confirmed his nomination, nor did it confirm him when the Biden administration switched the posting to the Bahamas.

Biden’s State Department named him in 2023 to serve as the U.S. representative to the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Smyre also was tapped to join Biden’s Intelligence Advisory Board.

Smyre rose to prominence in the Georgia House, helming the powerful Rules Committee before Republicans took control of the chamber in 2004. He also chaired the House Democratic Caucus.

His colleagues gave him a reverential nickname, calling him “Dean Smyre.”

He played a key role in high-profile legislation, such as making the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a state holiday, replacing the 1950s-era state flag and its Confederate battle symbol, passing a hate crimes law, and repealing Georgia’s 19th-century citizens arrest law after the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. That last, Smyre said, was a personal request by Arbery’s mother.

Smyre also was active in national Democratic politics, co-chairing Bill Clinton’s Georgia presidential campaigns in 1992 and 1996 and serving as a deputy of the 2000 Al Gore campaign.

Calvin Smyre praised as a bridge builder

Despite his partisan loyalties, colleagues from both sides of the political aisle praised Smyre as a bridge builder.

“I believe Calvin puts people in two groups: friends and future friends,” said Rep. Butch Parrish, R-Swainsboro, the chairman of the Rules Committee.

House Speaker Jon Burns, a Republican from Newington, called Smyre a mentor.

Among the high-ranking political figures who came to pay their respects were former Gov. Roy Barnes, a Democrat, who spoke as former Gov. Sonny Perdue, a Republican (and now the University System of Georgia chancellor) watched from the House floor.

A friend of Joe Frank Harris, another former Democratic governor, read a letter that was signed, “with deep love.”