EDUCATION/ PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

• Born March 29, 1942, Humboldt, South Dakota
• Harvard Law School- Juris Doctor, 1971
• Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government- Masters in Public Administration
• Oxford University, Oxford, England – Oxford Diploma in Public and Social Administration, Rhodes Scholar, 1964
• University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD – B.A. Government, 1964; President of Student Body; Phi Beta Kappa
• Lieutenant, U.S. Army: 1966-1968
  • Served two tours of combat duty in Vietnam
  • Awarded the following Vietnam Service Medals: Bronze Star Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with 4 Bronze Service Stars, Vietnam Campaign Ribbon with Device (1960), Overseas Svc Bars (2), and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross w/Palm Unit Citation Badge
• Foreign Service Officer (Geneva, Switzerland): 1971-1974
• Legal Advisor's Office, Washington, D.C. and Geneva, Switzerland

Former United States Senator Larry Pressler lives in Washington, D.C. and is a lawyer, speaker, and writer. Upon completing twenty-two years in Congress, Senator Pressler has dedicated much of his life to business and teaching. He recently published a book entitled Senator Pressler: An Independent Mission to Save Our Democracy. He is a frequent speaker to corporations and universities—In February 2016, he spoke in Bangalore, India at the Infosys International Corporate Conference and in March 2016, he gave a series of lectures on public affairs/ethics to the Law School, the Marriott Business School, and other classes at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He is scheduled to make a major speech at Rhodes House, Oxford University on “Analyzing the American Presidential Election of 2016.” He will repeat this speech at other points in Europe and California.

Senator Larry Pressler served in the US Senate for 18 years (3 terms) and was the first Vietnam veteran elected to the US Senate. While in the US Senate, he served as Chairman of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committees. He was also an active member of the Foreign Relations Committee. He was the principle author of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and of the “Pressler Amendment,” which limited foreign countries from using USA to develop nuclear weaponry

Prior to his election to the US Senate, Larry Pressler served two terms as a member of the US House of Representatives from 1975-1979.

He was an announced candidate for the presidency in 1980 and drew national fame and praise for flatly turning down a bribe on tape in the ABSCAM scandal.

In 2016, Senator Pressler continues to serve on a military modernization commission and on some federal boards. He is also on the Jericho Project’s Veteran Homeless Advisory Council in New York City, which has recently opened two homeless facilities for veterans in the Bronx and in Harlem. Senator Pressler was a member of the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange until the NASDAQ purchased it. From 2000 to 2006, Senator Pressler was a member of the Board of Directors of Infosys Technologies, LTD in Bangalore, India. Infosys was a NASDAQ – listed company. Pressler helped Infosys get listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Senator Pressler has taught/lectured at over twenty universities, including Harvard and UCLA. He was a Fulbright professor in both Italy and Science Po in Paris, France.

Senator Pressler won three terms in the United States Senate in South Dakota. Some of his election victories were the largest in the state’s history. He was defeated in 1996 over the issue of taxation in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 which he had sponsored. In 2014, Senator Pressler ran as an Independent for the United States Senate in South Dakota. South Dakota’s four largest newspapers endorsed him, including the two largest: the Sioux Falls Argus Leader and the Rapid City Journal. Senator Angus King (I-ME) also endorsed him. He held the lead a month before the election, but dropped in the polls after becoming the target of millions of dollars worth of negative ads from both political parties, who feared the election of another Independent to the US Senate. Senator Pressler’s campaign was a subject of many national news stories, including a front page story in The New York Times. It was editorialized that Pressler lost the election, but won the campaign because of his positive, centrist campaign.

Senator Pressler and his wife have one daughter, Laura, and four grandchildren in Newburyport, Massachusetts.

Senator Pressler’s contact information is as follows:

800 25th St. NW
The Plaza Suite 504,
Washington, D.C. 20037-2208
Email: lpressler@larrypressler.com
Website: www.senatorlarrypressler.com