Larry Pressler

Larry Pressler

Larry Lee Pressler (* 29. March 1942 in Humboldt , Minnehaha County , South Dakota ) is a former American politician of the Republican Party , of the state of South Dakota for many years in both the House of Representatives and in the Senate of the United States represented.

Life

Studies, Vietnam War and professional activities

After attending school, Pressler first studied at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion and graduated in 1964 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA). After receiving a Rhodes Scholarship , he began a one-year study at the 1965 University of Oxford before he his on his return from 1966 to 1968 military service in the US Army ableistete and at times also used in the Vietnam War took place. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his military service.

After completion of military service completed Pressler a postgraduate studies of law at the Law School of Harvard University and graduated in 1971 with a Juris Doctor (JD) from. At the same time, he completed a course of study at the John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1971 .

He then joined the State Service of South Dakota and was employed in the office of the Legal Adviser to the Secretary of State of South Dakota, where he served until 1974. During this time, 1972 also received his license to practice in the District of Columbia and began practicing law .

Congressman and US Senator

In 1974 he was elected as a Republican candidate to the 94th United States Congress for South Dakota and after his re-election in 1976 from January 3, 1975 to January 3, 1979 he represented the first congressional constituency of the state. In the election he was able to prevail against the democratic constituency owner Frank E. Denholm .

After he had renounced a renewed candidacy, he was elected in the 1978 election to succeed James Abourezk as Senator for South Dakota in the US Senate and was a member of this from January 3, 1979. In 1980 he contributed to the elucidation of the Abscam - corruption affair in, in which he rejected not only the acceptance of bribes, but the offering of cash payments shortly after the FBI reported. Most recently from January 1995 to January 1997 he was chairman of the Senate Committee for Trade, Science and Transport .

After re-elections in 1984 and 1990, Pressler was defeated in the 1996 Senate election by his Democratic challenger and previous Congressman Tim Johnson and left the Senate on January 3, 1997.

In addition to his work as a senator, he was also a member of the governing bodies ( Board of Visitors ) of the US Merchant Marine Academy 1979 and 1989 to 1990, the US Air Force Academy and 1993 the US Military Academy and the US Coast Guard Academy .

Lawyer and activities in the private sector

After retiring from the Senate, he was also licensed to practice law in New York State in 1997 and subsequently founded the law firm Pressler International, LLC. At the same time he took up activities in the private sector and became a member of the boards of directors of several companies such as the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. Since 2001 Pressler has also been a Lecturer and Senior Fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and is also a partner in the Brock Law Firm in New York City .

Pressler, who has also been a member of the advisory board of the national Vietnam Veterans Memorial since 2004 , was the official election observer at the presidential elections in Ukraine in December 2004 .

Web links

• Larry Pressler in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Larry Pressler in nndb (English)