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Thomas J. Bliley Jr.

Thomas J. Bliley Jr.
TomBliley.jpg
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 7th district
In office
January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2001
Preceded by George Allen
Succeeded by Eric Cantor
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Virginia's 3rd district
In office
January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1993
Preceded by David E. Satterfield III
Succeeded by Robert C. Scott
Chairman of the House Commerce Committee
In office
January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2001
Preceded by John Dingell
Succeeded by Billy Tauzin
69th Mayor of Richmond, Virginia
In office
July 1, 1970 – March 7, 1977
Preceded by Phil Bagley
Succeeded by Henry L. Marsh III
Personal details
Born Thomas Jerome Bliley Jr.
(1932-01-28) January 28, 1932 (age 85)
Chesterfield County, Virginia
Political party Republican (after 1980)
Other political
affiliations
Democratic (before 1980)
Spouse(s) Mary Virginia Kelley; 2 children
Religion Roman Catholic

Thomas Jerome "Tom" Bliley Jr. (born January 28, 1932) is a United States Republican politician and former U.S. Representative from the state of Virginia.

Bliley was born on January 28, 1932, in Chesterfield County, Virginia. He attended private Catholic schools and graduated in 1948 at the age of 16 from Benedictine High School in Richmond, Virginia.

In 1952, Bliley earned a B.A. in Political Science from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.. He subsequently served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy from 1952 to 1955. He worked as a funeral director for Joseph W. Bliley Co. Funeral Home, a family business, eventually serving as President.

Bliley, a practicing Roman Catholic, is married to the former Mary Virginia Kelley and is the father of two. He has four grandchildren, a step-grandson and two greatgrandsons.

In 1968, Bliley was elected vice-mayor of Richmond. He held that post until 1970, when he successfully ran for mayor, a position he held until 1977. Bliley grew up as a conservative Southern Democrat, but became a Republican sometime after his term as mayor. In 1980, Bliley won the Republican nomination for Congress representing Virginia’s 3rd congressional district after 12-year incumbent David Satterfield announced his retirement. He won by a large margin, becoming the first Republican to win an undisputed victory in the district since Reconstruction. (In 1890, the House awarded Republican Edmund Waddill the seat after a disputed election.) The 3rd, however, had been trending Republican for some time at the national level. It had been one of the first areas of Virginia where the old Byrd Democrats started splitting their tickets and voting Republican, and had not supported a Democrat for president since 1948.


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