Christopher John "Chris" Dodd

 

 

Born May 27, 1944 Christopher John "Chris" Dodd is an American lawyer and Democratic Party politician serving as the senior United States Senator. Born in Willimantic, Connecticut his parents were Grace Mary Dodd (née Murphy) and U.S. Senator Thomas Joseph Dodd; all eight of his great-grandparents were born in Ireland.

Chris Dodd served in the Peace Corps for two years prior to entering law school at the University of Louisville, and during law school concurrently served in the United States Army Reserve.

He was elected United States Senator in the elections of 1980, and is now the longest-serving senator in Connecticut's history, the 8th most senior of current senators and one of three from the 1980 freshman class who is still serving. Dodd's father, Thomas J. Dodd, served as one of Connecticut's United States Senators from 1959-1971.

Dodd served as general chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1995 to 1997. He serves as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. In 2006, Dodd decided to run for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, but eventually withdrew after running behind several other competitors. In January 2010, Dodd announced that he would not run for re-election in the 2010 midterm elections.