Current:Home > FinanceTennessee senator and ambassador to China Jim Sasser has died -Ascend Wealth Education
Tennessee senator and ambassador to China Jim Sasser has died
View
Date:2025-04-17 00:41:51
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jim Sasser, who served 18 years in the U.S. Senate and six years as ambassador to China, has died. He was 87.
Gray Sasser, his son, said his father died Tuesday evening at his home in Chapel Hill, N.C., of an apparent heart attack.
Sasser, a Democrat, represented Tennessee in the Senate from 1977 to 1995. President Bill Clinton then appointed him ambassador to China, a post he held until 2001.
Sasser was elected to the Senate by defeating Republican Bill Brock in 1976, and worked his way up the party leadership, serving as chairman of the budget committee from 1989 to 1992. He had a chance of becoming Senate majority leader before he was defeated for re-election in 1994 by Republican Bill Frist, who at the time was a political unknown making his first run for public office.
After he retired as ambassador, Sasser became a consultant.
Gray Sasser and his sister Elizabeth Sasser said of their father in a written statement, “He believed in the nobility of public service and the transformational power of government.”
He was proudest of his “quiet achievements” for ordinary Tennesseans, like helping with a disability claim or VA benefits.
Sasser, a native of Memphis, Tenn., was raised in Nashville. He graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1958 and from Vanderbilt Law School in 1961.
He practiced law in Nashville and became a Democratic activist, managing the unsuccessful re-election campaign of Sen. Albert Gore Sr. in 1970. He was chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party from 1973 until 1976, when he got a measure of revenge by winning election to the Senate over Brock, who had unseated Gore in 1970.
Sasser was re-elected rather easily in 1982 and 1988 before losing to Frist. Sasser was the last Democrat to represent Tennessee in the Senate.
After leaving the Senate, he was a fellow at Harvard University.
Sasser’s children wrote of their father, “As his friends and former staff will attest, Dad loved his family, the State of Tennessee, his years serving in the US Senate and old cars too, and loved them in that order.”
Other survivors include Sasser’s wife, Mary and four grandchildren.
veryGood! (4577)
Related
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- Police in Greece allege that rap singer blew up and robbed cash machines to pay for music videos
- U.N. climate talks head says no science backs ending fossil fuels. That's incorrect
- Former US ambassador arrested in Florida, accused of serving as an agent of Cuba, AP source says
- Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
- UN warns that 2 boats adrift on Andaman Sea with 400 Rohingya aboard desperately need rescue
- Pregnant Ashley Benson and Brandon Davis Step Out for Date Night at Lakers Game
- 4 arrested in honor killing of 18-year-old Pakistani woman after doctored photo with her boyfriend goes viral
- Will the 'Yellowstone' finale be the last episode? What we know about Season 6, spinoffs
- Sylvester Stallone returns to Philadelphia for inaugural 'Rocky Day': 'Keep punching!'
Ranking
- Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
- Democratic Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney announces run for Virginia governor in 2025
- Alabama star lineman Tyler Booker sends David Pollack a message after SEC Championship
- Why some investors avoid these 2 stocks
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Ted Koppel on the complicated legacy of Henry Kissinger
- Michigan takes over No. 1 spot in college football's NCAA Re-Rank 1-133
- 20 years after ‘Sideways,’ Paul Giamatti may finally land his first best actor Oscar nomination
Recommendation
Trump's 'stop
Virginia woman won $1 million after picking up prescription from CVS
'Tis the season for holiday cards. Tips on writing a heartfelt note, what else to know
Alaska Airlines to buy Hawaiian Airlines in deal that may attract regulator scrutiny
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
Alabama family's 'wolf-hybrid' pet killed 3-month-old boy, authorities say
Economists predict US inflation will keep cooling and the economy can avoid a recession
Why this College Football Playoff shapes up as the most unpredictable ever