Preceded by Jack Miller Name Dick Clark Succeeded by Roger Jepsen Years of service 1950-1952 | Party Democratic Party Political party Democratic Education Upper Iowa University Resigned January 3, 1979 | |
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Born September 14, 1928 (age 95)
Linn County, Iowa ( 1928-09-14 ) Role Former United States Senator Books Murder on Tour: A Rock 'n R, Dick Clark's American, A Foreign Policy for the Unite, Looking Great - Staying Y, The Southern African P | ||
Service/branch United States Army Previous office Senator (IA) 1973–1979 | ||
Richard Clarence Clark (born September 14, 1928) is an American politician who represented the state of Iowa in the United States Senate from 1973 to 1979.
Clark, a Democrat, was successful only in his first election for the Senate when he defeated Republican incumbent, Jack R. Miller in 1972. Clark received 662,637 votes (55%) to Miller's 530,525 (44%). American Independent Party candidate William Rocap received 8,954 votes (1%).
Clark served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and chaired the Subcommittee on Africa, developing considerable expertise on the crisis in Angola. In 1976, he authored the Clark Amendment, which barred aid from the U.S. government to private groups engaged in military or paramilitary operations in Angola.
Clark ran for reelection in 1978, but lost to Roger Jepsen. Clark was then appointed by President Jimmy Carter to be Ambassador at Large and United States Coordinator for Refugee Affairs in 1979. He has served as a senior fellow at the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies since 1980.
He was educated first at the University of Maryland, Wiesbaden, and the University of Frankfurt from 1950 to 1952, while serving in the United States Army. He completed his BA in 1953 at Upper Iowa University and his Masters in 1956 at the University of Iowa.
Prior to being a Senator, Clark was a professor at Upper Iowa University, and then served as an assistant to congressman John Culver. While working for Culver, Clark helped put together a campaign that kept Culver in Congress in 1966.
Because of his efforts against the apartheid government in South Africa, his opponent, Roger Jepsen, branded him as "the Senator from Africa"
As senator, he served on the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, the Committee on Environment and Public Works and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.