Jim Jones | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Ambassador to Mexico | |
| In office September 10, 1993 – June 25, 1997 | |
| President | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | John Negroponte |
| Succeeded by | Jeffrey Davidow |
| Chair of theHouse Budget Committee | |
| In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1985 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Giaimo |
| Succeeded by | William H. Gray III |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromOklahoma's1st district | |
| In office January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1987 | |
| Preceded by | Page Belcher |
| Succeeded by | Jim Inhofe |
| White House Chief of Staff | |
De facto | |
| In office April 26, 1968 – January 20, 1969 | |
| President | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| Preceded by | W. Marvin Watson (de facto) |
| Succeeded by | H. R. Haldeman |
| White House Appointments Secretary | |
| In office April 26, 1968 – January 20, 1969 | |
| President | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| Preceded by | W. Marvin Watson |
| Succeeded by | Dwight Chapin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Robert Jones (1939-05-05)May 5, 1939 (age 86) Muskogee, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Education | University of Oklahoma (BA) Georgetown University (LLB) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1964–1965 (active) 1961–1968 (reserve) |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | Army Intelligence Corps Army Reserve |
James Robert Jones (born May 5, 1939) is an American lawyer, diplomat,Democratic politician, a retiredU.S. congressman fromOklahoma, and a formerU.S. ambassador to Mexico under PresidentBill Clinton.[1]
Jones grew up inMuskogee, Oklahoma, and was involved in politics at an early age.[2] He worked as a legislative assistant to U.S. RepresentativeEd Edmondson and asAppointments Secretary to U.S. PresidentLyndon B. Johnson.
In 1972, after returning to Oklahoma, Jones ran forOklahoma's 1st congressional district. He won and was re-elected six times. During his tenure in Congress, which lasted until 1987, Jones served four years as the Chairman of the House Budget Committee.
Jones was born and educated inMuskogee, Oklahoma. By the age of 12, Jones was campaigning forEd Edmondson's bid for Congress.[2] He received hisB.A.degree in 1961 from theUniversity of Oklahoma, where he also joinedLambda Chi Alpha fraternity. Jones was accepted atGeorgetown University Law Center (inWashington, D.C.) and graduated with anLL.B. in 1964.
Jones enlisted and served in theU.S. Army Reserve (from 1961 to 1968) and also served briefly in the ArmyCounterintelligence Corps (at the rank ofcaptain, from 1964 to 1965). Jones was also admitted to the Oklahomabar in 1964 and commenced hispractice of law inTulsa, Oklahoma.
Jones's first important political job was as the legislative assistant for CongressmanEd Edmondson (1961–1964). In 1965, Jones moved fromCongress to theWhite House, where he served asAppointments Secretary (andde factoChief of Staff) toU.S. PresidentLyndon B. Johnson. At that time, Jones was the youngest person to hold the position of Appointments Secretary.
After Johnson left office, Jones returned to Oklahoma and resumed his law practice in Tulsa. In 1970, he ran against 10-term incumbent RepublicanPage Belcher inOklahoma's 1st congressional district. He gave Belcher only his second credible reelection contest ever, holding him to 55 percent of the vote—a surprisingly close margin, considering that Belcher was ranking member of theHouse Agriculture Committee.
Jones was priming for a rematch in 1972, but Belcher didn't have the stomach for another bruising contest and pulled out of the race in June. The Republicans recruited Tulsa MayorJim Hewgley as a replacement. However, Jones won the November election by a fairly convincing 11-point margin—a surprising result, considering thatRichard Nixon easily carried the 1st in the presidential election (Nixon won Tulsa County with a staggering 78 percent of the vote). Jones is the first and only Democrat to have represented Tulsa in Congress sinceDixie Gilmer left office in 1951; he was re-elected six times, serving until January 1987.
As a member of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, Jones secured House backing for a conservative tax cut in 1978.[2] In 1979, he joined the House Budget Committee.[2] Jones also was able to get Democrats to add more fiscal conservatives to the Budget Committee.[2]
Jones decided to give up his House seat in 1986 to run againstRepublican incumbent SenatorDon Nickles, even though he'd only narrowly defeated futuregovernorFrank Keating two years earlier for reelection to his House seat. He lost to Nickles by 10 points.
In 1987, Jones resumed the practice of law, joining the Washington-based firm ofDickstein Shapiro.[3] He later served as the Chairman of theAmerican Stock Exchange (1989 to 1993). After the election of Democratic PresidentBill Clinton, Jones was appointed theU.S. Ambassador to Mexico and served from 1993 until 1997.[4] In February, 2003, he was inaugurated Chairman of theWorld Affairs Councils of America.
Presently, Jones is a resident of Tulsa and Washington, D.C. He is a partner in the law firmManatt, Phelps & Phillips.[5][6] He also serves on the board of directors of theCommittee for a Responsible Federal Budget.[7] Jones also is a member of the advisory board for the Mexico Institute.
In 1994, Jones was inducted into theOklahoma Hall of Fame.[8]
Jones agreed to serve onThe Constitution Project's Guantanamo Task Force in December 2010.[9][10][11]
Former FBI Director William Sessions, former Arkansas U.S. Rep. Asa Hutchinson, a retired Army general and a retired appeals court judge in Washington are among 11 people selected for a task force that will meet for the first time in early January, said Virginia Sloan, a lawyer and president of The Constitution Project.
{{cite news}}:|archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by W. Marvin Watson De facto | White House Chief of Staff De facto 1968–1969 | Succeeded by |
| White House Appointments Secretary 1968–1969 | Succeeded by | |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromOklahoma's 1st congressional district 1973–1987 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse Budget Committee 1981–1985 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromOklahoma (Class 3) 1986 | Succeeded by Steve Lewis |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Mexico 1993–1997 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
Chairs of theUnited States House Committee on the Budget | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| 1st district |   | |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd district | ||
| 3rd district | ||
| 4th district | ||
| 5th district | ||
| 6th district | ||
| 7th district | ||
| 8th district | ||
| At-large | ||
| Territory | ||
 | ||
| National | |
|---|---|
| People | |
| Other | |
