Steven T. Walther (born July 18, 1943) is an American attorney who served as a commissioner of the

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Camp ...

. Walther also served as chair of the FEC in 2009 and 2017.

Early life and education

Walther was born in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Russian from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

in 1965 and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

UC Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of 1 ...

in 1968.

Career

Walther is a former president of the State Bar of Nevada, the Western States Bar Conference, and the National Caucus of State Bar Associations. He is a past chair of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation, the legal research arm of the ABA. From 1971 until his FEC appointment, Walther served as a member of the Nevada State Advisory Committee to the

United States Commission on Civil Rights The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) is a bipartisan, independent commission of the United States federal government, created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 during the Eisenhower administration, that is charged with the responsibility fo ...

. Prior to joining the FEC, Walther practiced law in the Reno, Nevada law firm of Walther, Key, Maupin, Oats, Cox & LeGoy, now known as Maupin, Cox & LeGoy which he co-founded in 1972. During his legal career, Walther has been active in professional legal and judicial organizations and activities, as well as numerous civic activities. He is a former member of the Board of Governors of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acade ...

and currently serves as co-chair of the ABA Center for Human Rights. He has been active in ABA initiatives focusing on international relations, human rights and the rule of law. He was appointed by the ABA President to serve as the ABA Representative to the United Nations. He served on the executive board of the ABA Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (CEELI), which oversees the ABA's democracy building programs in over 21 countries–programs which promote development of fair and open election laws. He has been a member of the board of trustees and lecturer for the National Judicial College, both in the United States and in Russia. Walther has lectured extensively, both domestically and internationally (principally in Russia), on rule of law, human rights, litigation and international law issues. He is a member of the

American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and its adaptation to changing social needs. ...

and the

International Bar Association The International Bar Association (IBA), founded in 1947, is a bar association of international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. The IBA currently has a membership of more than 80,000 individual lawyers and 190 bar associat ...

Federal Election Commission

He was first sworn in as a commissioner of the

on January 10, 2006, as a recess appointee. Although his name was placed before the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

for confirmation in June, 2007, his recess term expired on December 31, 2007, before the Senate acted. On June 24, 2008, he was confirmed unanimously by the Senate and sworn in on June 27 as a commissioner, to resume the balance of his statutory term. In January 2022, Dara Lindenbaum was nominated by President Joe Biden to succeed Walther as a commissioner of the FEC. She was confirmed by the Senate on May 24, 2022, and sworn in on August 2, 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walther, Steven T. 1943 births Living people Members of the Federal Election Commission Recess appointments during the George W. Bush administration UC Berkeley School of Law alumni Notre Dame College of Arts and Letters alumni George W. Bush administration personnel Obama administration personnel Trump administration personnel Biden administration personnel