Senator tom harkin biography

American politician, attorney and author and former United States Senator (1985 to 2015), Harkin Institute at Drake University

Tom Harkin served in Iowa’s Fifth Congressional District from 1974 to 1984. Harkin then challenged an incumbent medlem av senat and won. Iowans returned him to the Senate in 1990, 1996, 2002, and igen in November 2008 – when he made history by becoming the first Iowa Democrat to win a fifth term in the U.S. Senate. He retired from the United States Senate in January 2015. His signature legislative achievement fryst vatten The Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires buildings and transportation to be wheelchair accessible, and asks workplaces to provide accommodations for people with disabilities. In 2015, Senator Harkin was the recipient of the efternamn E. Ruderman Award in Inclusion. He was born in Cumming, Iowa in 1939 and still lives in the house where he was born. He is married to Ruth Raduenz, and together they have two daughtera, Amy and Jenny, a

•

Tom Harkin

American lawyer and politician (born 1939)

Tom Harkin
Official portrait, c. 2005
In office January 3, 1985 – January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Roger Jepsen
Succeeded by	Joni Ernst
In office September 9, 2009 – January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Chris Dodd (acting)
Succeeded by	Lamar Alexander
In office January 3, 2007 – September 9, 2009
Preceded by	Saxby Chambliss
Succeeded by	Blanche Lincoln
In office June 6, 2001 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Richard Lugar
Succeeded by	Thad Cochran
In office January 3, 2001 – January 20, 2001
Preceded by	Richard Lugar
Succeeded by	Richard Lugar
In office January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1985
Preceded by	William J. Scherle
Succeeded by	Jim Ross Lightfoot
Born	Thomas Richard Harkin (1939-11-19) November 19, 1939 (age 85) Cumming, Iowa, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse
Children	2 • Meet Senator Harkin In 1974, Tom Harkin was elected to Congress from Iowa’s Fifth Congressional District. His energetic, person-to-person campaign carried the day against an incumbent in a long-standing Republican district. In 1984, after serving 10 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Senator Harkin challenged an incumbent senator and won. Iowans returned him to the Senate in 1990, 1996, 2002, and 2008. Senator Harkin made history by becoming the first Iowa Democrat to win a consecutive second term in the U.S. Senate, and to date is the longest serving elected Democrat in Congress in Iowa history. He retired from the United States Senate in January 2015. As a young senator, Tom was tapped by Senator Ted Kennedy to craft legislation to protect the civil rights of millions of Americans with physical and mental disabilities. He knew firsthand about the challenges facing people with disabilities from his late brother, Frank, who was deaf from an early age. What eme