Mark Deli Siljander (born June 11, 1951) is an American author and politician who served as a RepublicanU.S. Representative from the state of Michigan.[1] He authored the book A Deadly Misunderstanding: A Congressman's Quest to Bridge the Muslim-Christian Divide.[2]
On January 27, 1981, incumbent Congressman David Stockman resigned to serve as the director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Reagan administration. In the following special Republican primary, Siljander ranked first in a seven-candidate field with a plurality of 37%.[8] He defeated Stockman-endorsed tax attorney John Globensky (36%) and State Senator John Mowat (22%).[9][10] In the April 1981 special general election, he defeated Democratic Cass County Commissioner Johnie Rodebush 69%-29%.[11][12][13] In 1981, Congress enacted an amendment, named after Representative Mark Siljander, to the FY1982 Foreign Assistance and Related Programs Appropriations Act specifying that no U.S. funds may be used to lobby for abortion. Congress subsequently modified the amendment to state that funds may not be used to "lobby for or against abortion"[14] In 2020, Pro-life Members of Congress led by Senator Lankford used the Siljander Amendment to Prevent US from Funding Abortions, Abortion Advocacy Abroad.[15]
1982
Siljander was challenged in the next Republican primary by attorney Harold Schuitmaker and defeated him 56%-44%.[16] In the general election, he won re-election to a full term with 60% of the vote.[17]
1984
Siljander was challenged again in the Republican primary, and defeated Tim Horan 58%-42%.[18] In the general election, he won re-election to a second full term with 67% of the vote.[19]
In 1984, Siljander sponsored a single-sentence amendment which read, "For the purposes of this Act, the term 'person' shall include unborn children from the moment of conception." Alexander Cockburn referred to the Siljander Amendment as "the most far-reaching of all the measures dreamed up by the conservative right to undercut Roe v. Wade."[20] It failed 186-219.[21]
Siljander travelled with Christian Watch International to Romania in response to the growing concerns over religious minority persecution.[22]
1985
Siljander proposed legislation which would deny most favored nation status to countries that discriminate on cultural, ethnic or religious grounds.[23][24]
1986
Once again Siljander was challenged in the Republican primary, this time by Fred Upton, a staffer to Stockman. Upton defeated Siljander 55%-45%,[25] becoming the only Republican to unseat an incumbent in a primary that year.[7] A key to his defeat was believed to be a tape sent to fundamentalist Christians in his district asking them to "break the back of Satan" by defeating Upton.[26]
Siljander is the president of Bridges to Common Ground.[29] He also founded Trac5,[30] with the stated goal to implement faith-based diplomacy in real-world conflicts[31]
Siljander's book, A Deadly Misunderstanding: A Congressman's Quest to Bridge the Muslim-Christian Divide was a 2009 Nautilus Silver Award Winner,[32] and has a foreword written by UN Secretary GeneralBan Ki Moon, with whom Siljander worked closely to resolve the humanitarian disaster in Darfur.[33]
In Ban Ki Moon's book published in 2021 in a chapter titled "The Breakthrough", Moon recounts Siljander's involvement in resolving the Darfur crisis stating, "...Siljander prayed aloud, passionately for peace in Sudan. That night Siljander convinced President Omar al-Bashir to work closely with the United Nations."[34]
Siljander was featured in the 2019 Netflix miniseries The Family, which details the history and activities of The Fellowship, a secretive Christian organization with ties to politicians and world leaders. In the series, Siljander recounts his efforts to engage Muammar Gaddafi and help bring the Pan Am Flight 103 Lockerbie bombing terror suspects to justice.[35]
In December 2020, President Donald Trump pardoned Siljander, praising his anti-abortion record while a congressman and his post-prison work abroad.[44] Trump's decision to pardon Siljander was criticized by Republican Congressman Fred Upton, who succeeded Siljander after defeating him in the 1986 Republican primary.[41][45]
^C.M. Matthews (January 12, 2012). "Former Congressman Gets One Year For Lobbying For Terror Sponsor". Wall Street Journal. IARA hired Siljander in 2004 to lobby for its removal from a U.S. Senate Finance Committee list of charities suspected of funding international terrorism, and its reinstatement as an approved government contractor.
