J. Bennett Johnston | |
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United States Senator from Louisiana |
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In office November 14, 1972 – January 3, 1997 |
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Preceded by | Elaine S. Edwards |
Succeeded by | Mary Landrieu |
Member of the Louisiana Senate from the Caddo Parish at-large district |
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In office 1968–1972 |
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Preceded by |
Johnny Rogers (at-large) Jackson B. Davis |
Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
Member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the Caddo Parish at-large district |
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In office 1964–1968 |
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Preceded by | Wellborn Jack (at-large) |
Succeeded by | At-large delegation |
Personal details | |
Born |
John Bennett Johnston Jr. June 10, 1932 Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Mary Gunn |
Relations | Tim Roemer (son-in-law) |
Children | 4 |
Education |
Washington and Lee University United States Military Academy (BS) Louisiana State University, Baton Rogue (LLB) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/branch | United States Army |
Years of service | 1956–1959 |
Unit | Army Judge Advocate General's Corps |
John Bennett Johnston Jr. (born June 10, 1932) is an American politician in the Democratic Party and lobbyist who represented Louisiana in the United States Senate from 1972 to 1997.
Johnston was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, to the attorney John Bennett Johnston Sr. (1894–1977) and the former Wilma Lyon (1904–1996). Johnston attended the private elementary and junior high Southfield School in the South Highlands neighborhood of Shreveport. He was inducted into the Southfield Hall of Fame in 1994.
After Southfield, Johnston graduated from C. E. Byrd High School in Shreveport. He attended the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, and Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.
In 1956, Johnston graduated from Louisiana State University Law Center in Baton Rouge. He was admitted to the bar that same year. He served in the United States Army, Judge Advocate General Corps in Germany from 1956 to 1959.
In 1964, Johnston was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives, along with two Republicans, Morley A. Hudson and Taylor W. O'Hearn, and two other Democrats from Caddo Parish, Algie D. Brown and Frank Fulco. Hudson and O'Hearn were the first Republicans to serve in the legislature since Reconstruction.