Brian J. Donnelly | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Ambassador toTrinidad and Tobago | |
| In office September 5, 1994 – September 24, 1997 | |
| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Sally G. Cowal |
| Succeeded by | Edward E. Shumaker III |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's11th district | |
| In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1993 | |
| Preceded by | James A. Burke |
| Succeeded by | District eliminated |
| Member of theMassachusetts House of Representatives | |
| In office 1973–1978 | |
| Succeeded by | Alfred E. Saggese Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1946-03-02)March 2, 1946 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | February 28, 2023(2023-02-28) (aged 76) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Boston University (BS) |
Brian Joseph Donnelly (March 2, 1946 – February 28, 2023) was an American diplomat and politician. He was aDemocratic member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts from 1979 to 1993, and was theUnited States Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago from 1994 to 1997.
Donnelly was a member of theMassachusetts House of Representatives, 1973–1978, where he served as assistant majority leader in 1977–1978.
Donnelly was elected as a Democrat to the96th and to the six succeeding U.S. Congresses (January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1993), but was not a candidate for renomination in 1992 to the103rd Congress. While in Congress, Donnelly served on the Committee on Public Works and Transportation and, beginning in 1985, on theWays and Means committee.
During his tenure in Congress, Donnelly authored, along with Republican CongressmanBill Archer of Texas, legislation to repeal the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100–360) after the law became politically unsustainable.[1] The law's political unsustainability reached its peak when the chairman of the committee that drafted the law was chased from his district office by angry senior citizens protesting it.[2] The enactment of the Donnelly legislation restored theMedicare program to its pre-1988 status.
Donnelly's second major accomplishment in Congress was the enactment of the so-called "Donnelly Visa" program, which authorized 5,000 visas annually for citizens of countries that had been historically under-represented in the United States' immigration system that primarily relies on family reunification. The primary beneficiaries of the Donnelly Visa program, in its early years, were Irish nationals – many of whose families lived in Donnelly'sDorchester district. Congress reauthorized the program in 1990; today, it is known as the Diversity Visa (DV) program and authorizes 50,000 visas annually to nationals of countries statistically deemed under-represented in the current immigration system. Donnelly's original intent was for the program to benefit Irish nationals but the reach of the program is far broader today.[3]
As aKnight of Columbus, he helped defeat an effort to tax fraternal insurance companies which would have diminished their ability to make charitable contributions.[4][5]
In 1994, he was namedUnited States Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago.[6] He served in this capacity until 1997.[7] In 1998, he ran forGovernor of Massachusetts, finishing third in the Democratic primary behindstate Attorney GeneralScott Harshbarger and formerstate SenatorPatricia McGovern.[8]
Donnelly attended private schools in Suffolk County. He graduated fromCatholic Memorial High School inWest Roxbury, in 1963. He received a Bachelor of Science fromBoston University in 1970. He was a teacher and coach in the Boston public schools. Donnelly and his wife, Virginia, had two children.[9]
Donnelly died from cancer at his home inEast Dennis, Massachusetts, on February 28, 2023, just two days short of turning 77.[9][10]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's 11th congressional district 1979–1993 | District eliminated after1990 United States census |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago 1994–1997 | Succeeded by |
