James Albert Smith Leach (born October 15, 1942) is an American academic and former politician. He served as ninth
Chair
A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vari ...
of the
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...
from 2009 to 2013
[ Pogrebin, Robin]
"Rocco Landesman Confirmed as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts"
''New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', August 7, 2009. and was a member of the
U.S. House of Representatives from
Iowa
Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...
(1977–2007).
Leach was the
John L. Weinberg
John Livingston Weinberg (January 25, 1925 – August 7, 2006) was an American banker and businessperson, running Goldman Sachs from 1976 to 1990.
Early life
Weinberg was the son of Sidney Weinberg, a banker at Goldman Sachs, and was born and ...
Visiting Professor of Public and International Affairs at the
Woodrow Wilson School
The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (formerly the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school provides an array of comprehensive course ...
of
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
.
He also served as the interim director of the Institute of Politics at
Harvard Kennedy School
The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, publi ...
at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
from September 17, 2007, to September 1, 2008, when
Bill Purcell was appointed permanent director.
Previously, Leach served 30 years (1977–2007) as a
Republican member of the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
, representing (numbered as the 1st District from 1977 to 2003). In
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
, Leach chaired the House Committee on Banking and Financial Services (1995–2001) and was a senior member of the House Committee on International Relations, serving as Chair of the committee's Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs (2001–2006).
He also founded and served as co-chair of the Congressional Humanities Caucus.
He lost his 2006 re-election bid to
Democrat Dave Loebsack
David Wayne Loebsack (; born December 23, 1952) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he also is an ''emeritus'' professor of political science at Cornell College, ...
. Leach sponsored the 1999
Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act, a notable piece of banking legislation of the 20th century.
In 2022, Leach broke with the Republicans and endorsed a Democrat running to represent his former district.
Early life and education
Leach was born in
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and ...
, and won the 1960 state
wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat s ...
championship at the 138-pound weight class for Davenport High School. He graduated from
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
in 1964 with an A.B. in politics after completing a senior thesis titled "The Right to Revolt:
John Locke
John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". Considered one of ...
Contrasted with
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
." While a student at Princeton, Leach was a member of
The Ivy Club. He then earned a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
degree in
Soviet studies from
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
in 1966. He later did further Soviet research at the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 milli ...
, where he studied under
Leonard Schapiro, the foremost expert on Soviet affairs.
Early career
Prior to entering the
United States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carry ...
, he was a staffer for then U.S. Rep.
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, government official and businessman who served as Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under president Gerald Ford, and again from 2001 to 2006 under Preside ...
.
In 1969, he was an assistant to Rumsfeld, who had left his Congressional seat to become Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity in the Nixon administration. While in the Foreign Service, he was a delegate to the
Geneva Disarmament Conference and the
U.N. General Assembly. In 1973, Leach resigned his commission in protest of the
Saturday Night Massacre when
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
fired his Attorney General,
Elliot Richardson
Elliot Lee Richardson (July 20, 1920December 31, 1999) was an American lawyer and public servant who was a member of the cabinet of Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. As U.S. Attorney General, he was a prominent figure in the Watergate ...
, and the independent counsel investigating the Watergate break-in,
Archibald Cox
Archibald Cox Jr. (May 17, 1912 – May 29, 2004) was an American lawyer and law professor who served as U.S. Solicitor General under President John F. Kennedy and as a special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal. During his career, he was ...
.
U.S. House of Representatives
After returning to Iowa to head a family business, Leach was elected in 1976 to Congress (defeating two-term
Democrat Edward Mezvinsky
Edward Maurice Mezvinsky (; born January 17, 1937) is an American politician and lawyer from Iowa. He is a former U.S. Representative and felon. A Democrat, he represented Iowa's 1st congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives fo ...
), where he came to be a leader of a small band of moderate Republicans. He chaired two national organizations dedicated to moderate Republican causes: the
Ripon Society and the Republican Mainstream Committee. He also served as president of the largest international association of legislators –
Parliamentarians for Global Action
Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) is a non-profit, non-partisan international network of committed legislators, that informs and mobilizes parliamentarians in all regions of the world to advocate for human rights and the rule of law, democr ...
.
During his 15 terms in Congress, Leach's voting record was generally conservative on fiscal issues, moderate on social matters, and
progressive in
foreign policy
A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through ...
. As chair of the Arms Control and Foreign Policy Caucus, he pressed for a Comprehensive Test Ban and led the first House debate on a
nuclear freeze The Nuclear Freeze campaign was a mass movement in the United States during the 1980s to secure an agreement between the U.S. and Soviet governments to halt the testing, production, and deployment of nuclear weapons.
Background
The idea of simply ...
. He objected to military unilateralism as reflected in the
Iran-Contra policy of the 1980s. He pushed for full funding of U.S. obligations to the United Nations, supported U.S. re-entry into
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
, and opposed U.S. withdrawal from the compulsory jurisdiction of the
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordan ...
.
While he supported the first
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
in 1991, Leach voted against the authorization to use force against Iraq in 2002. Leach was one of only six House Republicans to vote against the resolution. Once the Congress committed to war, however, he held that it would be folly to assume it could be funded with tax cuts and therefore he was one of three Republican congressmen (alongside
Michael Castle
Michael Newbold Castle (born July 2, 1939) is an American lawyer and politician who was governor of Delaware (1985–92) and the U.S. representative for (1993–2011). He is a member of the Republican Party.
The district includes the entir ...
and
Amo Houghton) to vote against the 2003 extension of the
Bush-era tax cuts.
Leach supported abortion rights except during the
third trimester but also opposed public funding of abortion, receiving an overall 30% rating from the Pro-Choice group
NARAL. Leach was a supporter of
stem cell research
In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of ...
.
Leach supported campaign reform and pressed unsuccessfully for a system of partial
public financing
Public finance is the study of the role of the government in the economy. It is the branch of economics that assesses the government revenue and government expenditure of the public authorities and the adjustment of one or the other to achie ...
of elections whereby small contributions could be matched by federal funds with accompanying limits on the amounts that could be spent in campaigns including the personal resources candidates could put in their own races. In his own campaigns, Leach did not accept donations from outside of Iowa.
As a member of the minority for his first nine terms, he became known for the development of three reports – one in the 1980s calling for a more progressive approach to
Central American politics; a second in the early 1990s on reforming the United Nations written for a national commission he legislatively established and later chaired; and the third issued when he was ranking minority member of the Banking Committee on the challenges of regulating
derivatives.
In the wake of a 1996 Ethics Committee probe of then Speaker of the House
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U. ...
, which cited the Speaker for providing false information under oath to a House committee, Leach broke ranks with tradition and voted against his party's nominee for Speaker in the subsequent Congress. In one of the few occasions in the 20th century when any party division was recorded on the initial leadership organizing votes on the House floor, he voted for the former Republican leader,
Bob Michel
Robert Henry Michel (; March 2, 1923 – February 17, 2017) was an American Republican Party politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives for 38 years. He represented central Illinois' 18th congressional distric ...
, and received two votes himself, causing Leach to take a distant third in the contest for Speaker of the
105th Congress
The 105th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1997, ...
behind Gingrich and the Democratic nominee,
Dick Gephardt
Richard Andrew Gephardt (; born January 31, 1941) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who served as a United States Representative from Missouri from 1977 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, he was House Majority Leader fro ...
.
Leach was a top critic of President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...
and played a leading role in the House's investigation of the
Whitewater scandal
The Whitewater controversy, Whitewater scandal, Whitewatergate, or simply Whitewater, was an American political controversy during the 1990s. It began with an investigation into the real estate investments of Bill and Hillary Clinton and their as ...
. In the 1980s he had objected to political misjudgments that lengthened and deepened losses in the
savings and loan
Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an ...
industry. Because criminal referrals had been lodged by a federal agency against President Clinton, his wife, and their partners in a real estate venture for their role in the failure of a modest-sized Arkansas S&L, Leach as chair of the
House Banking Committee
The United States House Committee on Financial Services, also referred to as the House Banking Committee and previously known as the Committee on Banking and Currency, is the committee of the United States House of Representatives that oversees ...
held four days of hearings (all in the same week) on the causes and consequences of the failure. While federal taxpayer losses (approximately $70 million) associated with this particular S&L were not as large as with bigger institutions around the country, no S&L anywhere failed with a higher percentage of losses relative to assets than the one in Arkansas.
In the end, the independent counsel brought more than 50 criminal convictions related to the failed S&L, including cases against Clinton's successor as Governor of Arkansas,
Jim Guy Tucker, and his business partners in Whitewater.
Leach did not think that the crimes surrounding the failure of the Whitewater-tied S&L should have been considered in an
impeachment
Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements.
In ...
framework. Like many in Congress, he was surprised that the
Justice Department
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
chose to refer certain sex-related charges to
Kenneth Starr, the Whitewater independent counsel, and even more so when Starr chose subsequently to refer certain of them to the Congress. But in what he described as a close judgment call, Leach voted for the
article of impeachment
An article of impeachment is a documented statement which specifies the charges to be tried in an impeachment trial as a basis for removing an officeholder. Articles of impeachment are an aspect of impeachment processes of many governments that uti ...
that related to felonious lying under oath.
Gramm–Leach–Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act
The
Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act, also known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act, Pub. L. No. 106-102, 113 Stat. 1338 (November 12, 1999), is an Act of the United States Congress which repealed part of the
Glass–Steagall Act of 1933, opening up competition among banks, securities companies and insurance companies. The Glass–Steagall Act prohibited a bank from offering investment, commercial banking, and insurance services.
This act of deregulation has been cited as one reason for the
subprime mortgage crisis
The United States subprime mortgage crisis was a multinational financial crisis that occurred between 2007 and 2010 that contributed to the 2007–2008 global financial crisis. It was triggered by a large decline in US home prices after the col ...
, which in turn is cited as a prime component of the
2007–2012 global financial crisis. In this regard in 2009 and since, Gramm–Leach has been considered in part a target of the
Volcker Rule within the overall
Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, commonly referred to as Dodd–Frank, is a United States federal law that was enacted on July 21, 2010. The law overhauled financial regulation in the aftermath of the Great Rece ...
of 2010.
Elections
Leach was usually reelected without much difficulty (including an unopposed run in 1990). He remained very popular in the 1st even as his district turned increasingly Democratic, especially from the 1990s onward. For most of his career, he represented the Democratic strongholds of Davenport,
Cedar Rapids
Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. I ...
and
Iowa City
Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...
. The district had last supported a Republican for president in 1984, and by the mid-1990s most of its state legislators were Democrats. The district became even more Democratic after the 2000 census, in which it was renumbered the 2nd District. Additionally, his hometown of Davenport, which had anchored the district for decades, was drawn into the 1st District (previously the 2nd District). Leach seriously considered running against fellow Republican incumbent
Jim Nussle in the 1st District primary. Had he done so, it was considered very likely that the reconfigured 2nd would have been taken by a Democrat. However, Leach opted to move to Iowa City in the reconfigured 2nd and won reelection two more times. Still, it was considered very likely that Leach would be succeeded by a Democrat once he retired.
2006 election
In 2006, Leach was defeated in a considerable upset by Democratic opponent
Dave Loebsack
David Wayne Loebsack (; born December 23, 1952) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he also is an ''emeritus'' professor of political science at Cornell College, ...
, a political science professor at
Cornell College
Cornell College is a private college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell College, in honor of iron tyc ...
. Loebsack had only qualified for the Democratic primary as a write-in candidate, and Leach was not on many Democratic target lists. However, Loebsack won by a narrow margin of approximately 6000 votes, largely by running up an 8,395-vote margin in
Johnson County, home to Iowa City.
In conjunction with a Democratic tide which swept Eastern Iowa and across the U.S. in the 2006 election, there were two factors seen as what led to Leach's defeat: his refusal to allow the
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in ...
to distribute leaflets that were seen as anti-gay, attacking Loebsack for his views on gay marriage, and his refusal to take out-of-state and
political action committee money.
The second related to his success just before adjournment in passing H.R. 4411. Gambling interests opposed him during the election and contended the bill had passed without hearings. The bill had been subject to extensive hearings over several Congresses, especially on the House side where both the
Financial Services
Financial services are the economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money, including credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, accountancy companies, ...
and the
Judiciary
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
committees had shared jurisdiction. Leach argued that Internet gambling weakened the economy and jeopardized the social fabric of the family.
Post-congressional career
After his defeat, Leach's name was floated as a potential replacement to
John Bolton as Ambassador to the United Nations. On December 8, 2006, Leach's House colleagues
Earl Blumenauer
Earl Francis Blumenauer ( ; born August 16, 1948) is an American lawyer, author, and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1996. The district includes most of Portland east of the Willamette River.
A member of the Democrat ...
(D-Oregon) and
Jim Walsh (R-New York) sent a letter to President
George W. Bush urging the President to nominate Leach for the post. However, the nomination instead went to the
United States Ambassador to Iraq
This is a list of United States ambassadors, or lower-ranking heads of a diplomatic mission to Iraq.
* Alexander K. Sloan (1931) – ''Chargé d'Affaires''
* Paul Knabenshue (1932–1942) – ''Minister''
* Thomas M. Wilson (1942) – ''Ministe ...
,
Zalmay Khalilzad
Zalmay Mamozy Khalilzad ( ps, ځلمی خلیل زاد, prs, زلمی خلیلزاد; born March 22, 1951) is an Afghan-American diplomat and foreign policy expert. Khalilzad was appointed by President Donald J. Trump to serve as U.S. Speci ...
.
Leach then taught at Princeton and served on the board of several public companies and four non-profit organizations, including the
Century Foundation, the
Kettering Foundation and the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington D.C. with operations in Europe, South and East Asia, and the Middle East as well as the United States. Founded i ...
. He is a member of the
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is a nonprofit organization that is independent and nonpartisan. CFR is based in New York Ci ...
and formerly served as a
trustee
Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...
of Princeton University.
Leach holds eight
honorary degrees and has received decorations from two foreign governments. He is the recipient of the Wayne Morse Integrity in Politics Award, the Woodrow Wilson Award from Johns Hopkins, the Adlai Stevenson Award from the United Nations Association, and the Edger Wayburn Award from the
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who b ...
. A three-sport athlete in college, Leach was elected to the
National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in
Stillwater, Oklahoma
Stillwater ( iow, Ñápinⁿje, ''meaning: "Water quiet"'') is a city in, and the county seat of, Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. Route 177 and State Highway 51. As of t ...
, and the
International Wrestling Hall of Fame
The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa.
History
The museum was awarded to Stillw ...
in
Waterloo, Iowa
Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 67,314, making it the eighth-largest city in the state. The city is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Falls ...
.
On September 17, 2007, Leach was named as Interim Director of the
Institute of Politics (IOP) at
Harvard Kennedy School
The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, publi ...
after former director
Jeanne Shaheen left to pursue a U.S. Senate seat in New Hampshire.
He was elected to the
Common Cause
Common Cause is a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., with chapters in 35 states. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican, who was the former Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President ...
National Governing Board in 2007.
Leach resides in
Iowa City
Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...
and Princeton with his wife Elisabeth (Deba), son Gallagher, and daughter Jenny.
On August 12, 2008, Leach broke party ranks to endorse Democrat
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
over fellow Republican
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...
in the
2008 U.S. presidential election. He spoke at the
2008 Democratic National Convention
The 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for president and vice president. The convent ...
in
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...
, on the night of August 25, 2008.
He was introduced by Senator
Tom Harkin
Thomas Richard Harkin (born November 19, 1939) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as a United States senator from Iowa from 1985 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was the U.S. representative for Io ...
, a fellow Iowan.
On November 14 and 15, 2008, Leach and former Clinton
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democrat ...
served as emissaries for President-elect Obama at the international economic summit being held in
Washington, D.C.
President Obama announced his nomination of Leach to be the ninth
Chair
A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vari ...
of the
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...
in June 2009. The appointment was confirmed in August 2009.
On August 1, 2013, Jim Leach began serving a three-year term as public affairs chair at the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 co ...
and is to begin teaching there as a visiting professor of law in the spring of 2014.
See also
*
List of U.S. political appointments that crossed party lines
President of the United States, United States presidents typically fill their United States Cabinet, Cabinets and other appointive positions with people from their own political party. The first Cabinet formed by the first president, George Washing ...
References
External links
*
*
June 21, 2007 speech by Leach on US foreign policy to the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council, MP3
, -
, -
, -
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leach, Jim
1942 births
21st-century American politicians
American Episcopalians
Chairpersons of the National Endowment for the Humanities
Harvard Kennedy School faculty
Living people
Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni
Politicians from Davenport, Iowa
Politicians from Iowa City, Iowa
Princeton University alumni
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa
The Century Foundation
United States Department of State officials
United Nations General Assembly officials
Whitewater controversy
Iowa Democrats