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James M. Jeffords

Jim Jeffords
JeffordsJim(I-VT).jpg
United States Senator
from Vermont
In office
January 3, 1989 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by Robert Stafford
Succeeded by Bernie Sanders
Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
In office
June 6, 2001 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by Bob Smith
Succeeded by Jim Inhofe
Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
In office
January 20, 2001 – June 6, 2001
Preceded by Ted Kennedy
Succeeded by Ted Kennedy
In office
January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2001
Preceded by Nancy Kassebaum
Succeeded by Ted Kennedy
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Vermont's at-large district
In office
January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1989
Preceded by Richard W. Mallary
Succeeded by Peter Plympton Smith
Attorney General of Vermont
In office
1969–1973
Preceded by James L. Oakes
Succeeded by Kimberly B. Cheney
Member of the Vermont State Senate
In office
1967–1969
Personal details
Born James Merrill Jeffords
(1934-05-11)May 11, 1934
Rutland, Vermont, U.S.
Died August 18, 2014(2014-08-18) (aged 80)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Cause of death Alzheimer's disease
Resting place Northam Cemetery, Shrewsbury, Vermont, U.S.
Political party Republican (before 2001)
Independent (after 2001)
Spouse(s) Liz Daley (1961–1978; 1986–2007)
Children 2
Alma mater Yale University
Harvard University
Military service
Allegiance  United States
Service/branch  United States Navy
Years of service 1956–1959
Rank US-O6 insignia.svg Captain
Unit Navy Reserves (1959–1990)

James Merrill Jeffords (May 11, 1934 – August 18, 2014) was a U.S. Senator from Vermont. Sworn into the Senate in 1989, he served as a Republican until 2001, when he left the party to become an Independent and began caucusing with the Democrats. Jeffords retired from the Senate in 2007. Prior to the Senate, he served as the U.S. Representative for Vermont's at-large congressional district from 1975 to 1989.

Jeffords was born in Rutland, Vermont, the son of Marion (née Hausman) and Olin Merrill Jeffords, who served as Chief Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. He had said that his mother was a relative of French architect Georges-Eugène Haussmann. Jeffords graduated from Yale University in 1956 and Harvard Law School in 1962. After three years of active duty in the United States Navy (1956–1959), Jeffords served in the Naval Reserves until retiring as a Captain in 1990. During 1962 and 1963 he was a law clerk for Ernest W. Gibson, Jr., Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont, afterwards practicing law in Rutland.

A longtime resident of Shrewsbury, Jeffords became active in politics and government in the 1960s as Shrewsbury's Grand Juror, Town Agent and Zoning Administrator, in addition to serving as Chairman of the town's Republican committee. He also served as Rutland County's Chairman of the Board of Property Tax Appeals.


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