BIOGRAPHY OF SENATOR LARRY PRESSLER
Attorney at Law
Admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court Bar
[Member US Senate (R-SD), 1979-1997]
[Member US House (R-SD), 1975-1979]
RECENT:
- On Monday November 7, 2022, signed onto U.S. Federal Judge Mark Wolf’s letter calling for the establishment of an International Anti-Corruption Court.
- On Monday October 10, 2022, Senator Pressler published a revised version of his memoirs, Growing Up on a South Dakota Farm.
- Spoke to a gathering of Parliamentarians from 6 continents and 55 countries at Bucharest, Romania’s Palace of the Parliament on Thursday July 7, 2022.
- Spoke to Rhodes Scholars at Oxford University about the upcoming 2024 Presidential elections on Tuesday July 5, 2022.
- Spoke to Parliamentarians about matters of homeland security in Washington DC on Monday December 6, 2021.
- Commemorated 50 years of continuous membership at the Humboldt, South Dakota American Legion Post 62 in 2021.
- Released Neighbours in Arms in 2017, detailing the story surrounding the so-called “Pressler Amendment.”
- Toured Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai in September 2017 to promote Neighbours in Arms: An American Senator’s Quest for Disarmament in a Nuclear Subcontinent.
- Released Neighbours in Arms: An American Senator’s Quest for Disarmament in a Nuclear Subcontinent.
- Spoke in Warsaw, Poland (February 2017) at the International Security Forum and lectured at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.
- Gave speeches at the 2016 Infosys International Corporate Conference in Bangalore, India in February, 2016 and lectured at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah in March, 2016.
- Pressler Group LLC – founder, Washington D.C. and New York. 2002-present.
- Keynote Speaker, Wyoming Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting in Sheraton, Wyoming on 02/29/2012, "Can we live with Simpson-Bowles?"
BUSINESS, NONPROFITS, AND PHILANTHROPY:
- Member of Council on Foreign Relations.
- Board Member for Rising Star Outreach which operates leprosy-related clinics across India.
- Former Member of the Board of Advisors, Issue One Reformers.
- Former Founder’s Circle Member, The Centrist Project.
- Former Member of the Board, The Jericho Project.
- Board of Advisors, Baruch School of Public Administration, City University of New York.
- Former Board Member, South Dakota Farmers Union Foundation.
- Former Special Advisor, India Globalization Capital.
- Former Senior Advisor, A-1 Technology Inc. / Mobile Programming LLC.
- Former Senior Partner, 1997-2002, O’Connor, Hannon Law Firm.
- Former Member of the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange.
- Former Member of the Board of Directors, 2000-2006, Infosys Technologies, Ltd.
EDUCATION/BACKGROUND:
- Born March 29, 1942, Humboldt, South Dakota – Graduated Humboldt High School 1960.
- Harvard Law School- Juris Doctor, 1971.
- Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government- Masters in Public Administration, 1966.
- 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.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
- 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 (FSR): 1971-1974.
- Legal Advisor's Office, Washington, D.C. and Geneva, Switzerland.
- Member of United States Congress (R-SD): 1975-1997.
- Member, US House of Representatives: 1975-1979.
- Committee on Education and Labor (1975-1979).
- Committee on Science and Technology (1975-1977).
- Committee on Small Business (1977-1979).
- Member, US Senate: 1979-1997.
- Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (1979–1997).
- Chairman of Full Committee (1995–1997).
- Chairman of Subcommittee on Telecommunications (1995–1997).
- Committee on Finance (1995–1997).
- Committee on Foreign Relations (1981–1995).
- Chairman of European Subcommittee and Chairman of the Arms Control Subcommittee.
- Committee on Small Business (1979–1997).
- Ranking Member of Full Committee (1993–1995).
- Committee on Environment and Public Works (1979–81, 1983–85).
- Committee on Banking (1991–1993).
- Committee on Judiciary (1993–1995).
- Committee on Budget (1979–1981).
- Appointed January 8, 2014 to Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission. Access the final report by going to www.mcrmc.gov
- U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad – Commissioner. Appointed by President Barack Obama on November 10, 2009. Resigned January 7, 2014.
HIGHLIGHTS OF CONGRESSIONAL ACTIVITY:
- Authored and passed numerous pieces of legislation regarding senior citizens, agriculture, water, transportation, telecommunications, the economy, health, and other matters affecting South Dakota.
- Authored/passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
- Authored/passed the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 1996.
- Authored/passed the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act of 1995.
- Authored/passed significant nuclear non-proliferation legislation (Pressler Amendment).
- Authored/passed legislation creating independent U.N. Inspector General office.
- Authored/passed numerous pieces of legislation regarding international trade.
- Authored/passed the Pressler Amendment requiring sanctions on Pakistan for using U.S. in terrorist and nuclear activities.
- Authored two books: U.S. Senators from the Prairie, 1982; Star Wars: The Strategic Defense Initiative Debates in Congress, 1986.
- Served as Congressional Delegate to the United Nations on two occasions.
- Co-founding member of the Senate Internet Caucus and Tourism Caucus.
- Served on the Boards of Visitors of the U.S. Military Academy and the Air Force Academy.
ACADEMIC HISTORY: 1996-PRESENT:
- Debated at the Oxford Union Debate in Oxford, England, December 2016.
- Guest Lecturer, University of Sioux Falls, Dakota Wesleyan University’s McGovern Center.
- Distinguished Visiting Faculty at Sciences Po University, Paris, France - August 27-December 1, 2012– Taught and graded papers of French graduate students on foreign policy issues drawn from the 2012 U.S. elections.
- Distinguished Guest Lecturer at Georgetown University Law School and Catholic University.
- Finalist for Additional Fulbright Professor Grant, January/February 2014.
- Sciences Po University, Paris, France – Distinguished Visiting Faculty, August-December 2012.
- University of Bologna, Italy –Visiting Fulbright Professor, January-May 2009.
- Lectured to doctoral candidates at the Department of Politics and History on the foreign policy decisions of the U.S. President/Congress during the last ten presidencies.
- Lectured as a Fulbright Professor at the University of Cagliari in Sardinia and at the University of Naples—March 2009.
- Lectured at Bar-Ilan University, Tel Aviv, on "President Obama's Foreign Policy: Engagement and Its Limits". Israel – March 2009.
- Lectured to the Society of Individualists at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Bologna, Italy—2009.
- Lectured to various Hungarian Universities at the request of the Hungarian Fulbright Commission, 2009.
- Thomas Hawkins Johnson Visiting Scholar, U.S. Military Academy, West Point. Fall 2006.
- Lectured on international relations, presidential studies and government classes at West Point.
- Conducted a seminar of junior and senior West Point cadets applying for Rhodes, Marshall, Fulbright, Truman, Gates, Rotary, Mitchell (to Ireland), Hertz, and other graduate fellowships.
- Additional teaching/lectures at the following universities: The Harvard Law School; Harvard Kennedy School of Government; Oxford University (England); University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA); Georgetown University Law School; The George Washington University; The U.S. Naval Academy; The Oglala Sioux SinteGleska University; University of South Dakota; Creighton; Catholic University, St. Johns University, New York, N.Y. and the St. John's University Graduate School of Business (Rome, Italy); and Adjunct Professor at City University of New York (CUNY, Baruch College (New York), St. John's University (Rome, Italy); The Indian National School of Law (Bangalore, India); Fudan University (China); Shanghai International Studies University (China); TongJi University (China); Zhongshan University (China); GuangDong University of Foreign Studies (China); and JiNan University (China), Dakota Wesleyan University’s McGovern Center.
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS:
- Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany - The President of Germany bestowed on Senator Pressler the German government's highest honor awarded a non-German citizen in a ceremony at the German Embassy and the U.S. Capitol. The award was given for Senator Pressler's work on European/German aviation and trade agreements. Senator Pressler has also been given high recognition by the governments of Greece, the Philippines, and England for his public service.
- Senator Pressler spoke in five Bosnia-Herzegovina cities on how U.S. Congressional oversight committees work in March, 2008.
- Keynote Speaker -US Embassy in Budapest, Hungary: Conference on the Upcoming US Election, October 14, 2008.
- Keynote Speaker at the Infosys Technologies Ltd. Annual Strategy meeting in Bangalore/Mysore, India. January 7-9, 2009.
- Keynote Speaker at the Future of Financial Markets Conference in Goa, India. January 2010.
PERSONAL INFORMATION:
Married to Harriet, with one daughter (Laura) and four grandchildren. Larry and Harriet currently reside in both Washington, D.C. and in southwest Sioux Falls, with a permanent farm-home in Larry's hometown of Humboldt, South Dakota.