John Francis "Jack" Reed (b. November 12, 1949) is the senior United States senator from Rhode Island. He is a Democrat.

Early Life

Reed was born in 1949 in Providence, Rhode Island and has lived in Rhode Island his entire life. Reed graduated from LaSalle Academy in Providence, and attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1971. Following his graduation and receiving an active duty commission, Reed attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he received a Masters of Public Policy. Reed also served in the 82nd Airborne Division, as an Army Ranger and paratrooper.

Law and Politics

Reed resigned from the army in 1979 as a captain and enrolled in Harvard Law School. In 1982, he graduated and served as an associate at the Washington, D.C. law firm of Sutherland, Asbill and Brennan. Afterwards, he returned to Rhode Island and joined Edwards and Angell, a Providence law firm. Reed was elected as a state senator in 1984, and served three terms. In 1990, Reed was elected to the United States House of Representatives. For the next six years Reed became well known in his state for his positions on education and health care, and when Senator Claiborne Pell announced his retirement in 1996, Reed campaigned to be his replacement and won.

Reed is currently a member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. He is also the senior Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee.