Jim Sasser

A Senator from Tennessee. Born in Memphis, Shelby County, Tenn. , September 30, 1936. Attended the public schools of Nashville. Attended the University of Tennessee 1954-1955. Graduated, Vanderbilt University, Nashville 1958. Graduated, Vanderbilt Law School 1961. Admitted to the Tennessee bar in 1961 and commenced practice in Nashville. Served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve 1957-1963. Elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate in 1976. Reelected in 1982 and 1988 and served from January 3, 1977, to January 3, 1995. Unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1994. Chairman, Committee on the Budget (One Hundred First and One Hundred Second Congresses). Fellow, Institute of Politics, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 1995. Appointed ambassador to the People's Republic of China by President William Jefferson Clinton, September 22, 1995, confirmed December 14, 1995, and served until 2001. Was a resident of Chapel Hill, N. C. , until his death on September 10, 2024.  .