Amarillo legislator Teel Bivins dies

Teel Bivins

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Teel Bivins, a former Texas lawmaker and U.S. ambassador to Sweden, died Monday.  He was 61.

Bivins, who had been battling a long illness, died at his home in Amarillo, said family spokeswoman Sharon Miner.

The Amarillo Republican served in the Texas Senate for 15 years before President George W. Bush appointed him to be the U.S. ambassador to Sweden in 2004.  He stepped down from the diplomatic post for health reasons in early 2006.

While in the Legislature, Bivins rose to chair the powerful Senate Finance Committee and was a member of the Legislative Budget Board.  According to State Representative David Swinford of Dumas, Bivins was instrumental in bringing the Texas Tech School of Medicine and the School of Pharmacy to Amarillo.

Before his election, Bivins worked as a businessman and cattleman.  He graduated from Tulane University and earned a law degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas.