Patrick Leahy
Patrick Joseph Leahy (born March 31 1940) is the senior United States Senator from Vermont. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Born in Montpelier, Vermont, Leahy graduated from St. Michael's College in 1961 and received his J.D degree from Georgetown University in 1964. He practiced as a lawyer until he was elected to the United States Senate for the first time in 1974. He had not held any other political office before becoming senator.
He was reelected in 1980, 1986, 1992, and 1998, and is a candidate in the U.S. Senate election, 2004. He was chairman of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee from 1987 until the Democrats lost control of the Senate in 1995, and was then Chairman of the Judiciary Committee from 2001 until the Democrats lost control again in 2003. He is now the ranking member of that committee and is one of the leaders in the Democratic Party's effort to block several nominees put forward by President George W. Bush for federal judgeships.