Mike Mansfield

U.S. Ambassador to Japan (1977-1988)

Senate Majority Leader (1961-1977)

U.S. Senator from Montana (1953-1977)

Michael Joseph Mansfield (b. March 16, 1903, N.Y.C.-d. Oct. 5, 2001, Washington, D.C.), a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Montana, began his public service career at the age of 14 as a seaman in the U.S. Navy during the First World War, as a private in the U.S. Army in 1919 and 1920, and as a private first class in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1920 to 1922. He graduated from Montana State University, received a master's degree, and spent a decade as a professor of history and political science at his alma mater. Mr. Mansfield was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Congress and served from 1943 to 1953, and was then elected to the Senate in 1952, serving from 1953 to 1977. In the Senate he was Democratic whip from 1957 to 1961 and majority leader from 1961 to 1977. Senator Mansfield also served as Ambassador to Japan for ten years and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1989.