Paul Sarbanes

Paul Sarbanes
United States Senator from Maryland
In office January 3, 1977 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	J. Glenn Beall Jr.
Succeeded by	Ben Cardin
Chair of the Senate Banking Committee
In office January 3, 2001 – January 20, 2001
Preceded by	Phil Gramm
Succeeded by	Phil Gramm
In office June 6, 2001 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Phil Gramm
Succeeded by	Richard Shelby
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland
In office January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1977
Preceded by	George Hyde Fallon
Succeeded by	Barbara Mikulski
Constituency	4th district (1971–1973) 3rd district (1973–1977)
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 2nd district
In office January 18, 1967 – January 13, 1971
Personal details
Born	Paul Spyros Sarbanes (1933-02-03)February 3, 1933 Salisbury, Maryland, U.S.
Died	December 6, 2020(2020-12-06) (aged 87) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Christine Dunbar ​ ​ (m. 1960; died 2009)​
Children	3, including John
Education	Princeton University (BA) Balliol College, Oxford (BA) Harvard University (LLB)
Signature
Paul Sarbanes's voice Sarbanes delivers his opening statement on the first day of the Iran–Contra hearings Recorded May 5, 1987

Paul Spyros Sarbanes (/ˈsɑːrˌbeɪnz/; February 3, 1933 – December 6, 2020) was an American politician and attorney from Maryland. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in both chambers of the United States Congress as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1977 and as a member of the United States Senate from 1977 to 2007. Sarbanes was the longest-serving senator in the History of Maryland until he was surpassed by Barbara Mikulski by a single day when her term ended on January 3, 2017.^[a] He was the first Greek American senator.

Born in Salisbury, Maryland, Sarbanes was a graduate of Princeton University, Balliol College, Oxford, and Harvard Law School. Elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1966, he went on to serve two terms in the Maryland House from 1967 to 1971. In 1970, he won a seat in the United States House of Representatives, representing Maryland's 4th congressional district and later Maryland's 3rd congressional district from 1971 to 1977.

In 1976, he ran for the United States Senate, defeating Republican incumbent J. Glenn Beall Jr. with 59% of the vote. Sarbanes was re-elected four times, each time receiving no less than 59% of the vote. He did not seek re-election in 2006, when he was succeeded by fellow Democrat Ben Cardin. Sarbanes was known for his low-key style,^[1] often shunning the limelight over his thirty-year Senate career. He was a coauthor of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act, which is generally noted as his most noteworthy piece of legislation.^[2][3]

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