Jim Leach, who represented Iowa in Congress for 30 years, and was known for his bipartisanship and as a champion of democratic process issues, was unanimously voted chairman of Common Cause's National Governing Board, the organization announced Monday. <\/p>
R\u00e9publicain ayant si\u00e9g\u00e9 \u00e0 la Chambre des repr\u00e9sentants des \u00c9tats-Unis jusqu'en 2006, Leach remplace Martha Tierney, avocate de Denver, qui assurait l'int\u00e9rim de la pr\u00e9sidence. Leach est actuellement directeur par int\u00e9rim de l'Institut de politique de la John F. Kennedy School of Government de l'Universit\u00e9 Harvard. Il est en cong\u00e9 de l'Universit\u00e9 de Princeton, o\u00f9 il est professeur invit\u00e9 John L. Weinberg d'affaires publiques et internationales \u00e0 la Woodrow Wilson School. <\/p>
\"We're so busy telling everyone else in the world how to do democracy that we've failed to place a proper emphasis on improving our own model,\" Leach said. \"One of our most glaring shortcomings relates to conflicts of interest that grow out of the vast sums of money distributed through American campaigns. The problems of following the money make clear the case for a more transparent system, one where all citizens have opportunity to seek on a fair and competitive basis elective office. Common Cause is dedicated to campaign finance reform, and in a larger sense to uplifting the American debate and revitalizing the American political ethic. I look forward to being part of that effort.\" <\/p>
Bob Edgar, the president of Common Cause, and a former Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania who served with Leach in the US House, said: \"Jim Leach knows how to find common ground on the important progressive issues we work on. He brings tremendous political skill in our fight for John Gardner's vision of a government that serves the public's interest, not the special interests.\" <\/p>
Leach a si\u00e9g\u00e9 \u00e0 la Chambre des repr\u00e9sentants des \u00c9tats-Unis de 1976 \u00e0 2007. Il a pr\u00e9sid\u00e9 la Commission des services bancaires et financiers, la Sous-commission des affaires asiatiques et pacifiques et la Commission ex\u00e9cutive du Congr\u00e8s sur la Chine. Il a \u00e9t\u00e9 l'un des principaux d\u00e9fenseurs de la l\u00e9gislation visant \u00e0 accro\u00eetre le soutien au traitement et \u00e0 la pr\u00e9vention du sida, \u00e0 all\u00e9ger la dette internationale, \u00e0 interdire les jeux d'argent en ligne et \u00e0 r\u00e9former le secteur des services financiers. Il est peut-\u00eatre mieux connu comme le principal auteur de la loi Gramm-Leach-Bliley, consid\u00e9r\u00e9e comme l'une des lois bancaires les plus importantes du XXe si\u00e8cle, la deuxi\u00e8me en importance apr\u00e8s la loi sur la R\u00e9serve f\u00e9d\u00e9rale de 1913. <\/p>
Leach's tenure in Congress was also marked by concern for the democratic process issues that are the hallmark of Common Cause. He championed campaign reform and pressed for a system of public financing of elections. Leach in his own campaigns refused to accept political action committee contributions or donations from outside of Iowa. <\/p>
Leach attended Princeton, the School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins, and the London School of Economics. A former U.S Foreign Service officer, he served as a delegate to the Geneva Disarmament Conference and the U.N. General Assembly. In 1973, Leach resigned his commission in protest of the Saturday Night Massacre when Richard Nixon fired his Attorney General, Eliot Richardson, and the independent counsel investigating the Watergate break-in, Archibald Cox. Cox later served as Common Cause's national governing board chairman from 1980 to 1992. <\/p>
Leach serves on the board of several public companies and three non-profit organizations - the Century Foundation, the Kettering Foundation, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and formerly served as a trustee of Princeton University. <\/p>
Leach est titulaire de huit dipl\u00f4mes honorifiques et a re\u00e7u des d\u00e9corations de deux gouvernements \u00e9trangers. Il a re\u00e7u le prix Wayne Morse pour l'int\u00e9grit\u00e9 politique, le prix Woodrow Wilson de Johns Hopkins, le prix Adlai Stevenson de l'Association pour les Nations Unies et le prix Edger Wayburn du Sierra Club. <\/p>
Leach r\u00e9side \u00e0 Iowa City et \u00e0 Cambridge avec sa femme Elisabeth (Deba), son fils Gallagher et sa fille Jenny.<\/p>
Click here to read Leach's biography.<\/p>"}}]},"yoast_head":"\n