Lester L. Wolff
Wolff in 1975
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York
In office January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1981
Preceded by	Steven B. Derounian
Succeeded by	John LeBoutillier
Constituency	3rd district(1965–1973) 6th district(1973–1981)
Personal details
Born	Lester Lionel Wolff (1919-01-04)January 4, 1919 New York City, U.S.
Died	May 11, 2021(2021-05-11) (aged 102) Syosset, New York, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Blanche Silvers ​ ​ (m. 1940; died 1997)​
Children	2
Education	New York University Stern School of Business
Profession	Consultant
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Air Force
Rank	Colonel
Unit	Civil Air Patrol
Battles/wars	World War II

Lester Lionel Wolff (January 4, 1919 – May 11, 2021) was an American politician who served as aDemocratic member of theUnited States House of Representatives from Long Island, New York. He also served as president of the International Trade and Development Agency.

In 2014, Wolff accepted theCongressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award in the United States, on behalf ofWorld War II members of theCivil Air Patrol.^[1] Wolff was the chair of theTouro College Pacific Community Institute, the author of numerous books onforeign policy, and the host of the weeklyPBS showAsk Congress.

Lester Lionel Wolff was born inManhattan on January 4, 1919, to Jewish parents^[2] Hannah (Bartman) and Samuel Wolff, a marketer who worked at Ruppert Breweries.^[3][4] Wolff graduated fromGeorge Washington High School in 1935 andNew York University in 1939.^[3][4]

Wolff lectured atNew York University from 1939 until 1941,^[3] and later became a department chair at theCity College of New York. Wolff was part of theCivil Air Patrol during World War II. He was a squadron commander^[3] and asubchaser.^[5]

Wolff worked for theLong Island Press^[6] andThe Bronx Home News.^[7] Wolff then founded his own firm, specializing in thefood industry, and was executive director of the New York Conference of Retail Grocers.^[7] He became the producer and host ofBetween the Lines, a local television program, and the producer of a celebrity variety show starringWendy Barrie.^[4] Wolff remained active in philanthropy as a member of theUnited Jewish Appeal andB'nai B'rith.^[8]

In 1957, Wolff was selected by the U.S. House of Representatives as chairman of the Advisory Committee to the Subcommittee on Consumer Study. Early in his life, he was a liberalRepublican, but switched parties, disillusioned with the increasingly conservative direction of the Republican Party underBarry Goldwater.^[6]

He was elected to Congress in 1964 and served from January 3, 1965, until January 3, 1981.^[3] He initially represented the 3rd district but later through redistricting the 6th district. Wolff served as Chairman of the Asian and Pacific Affairs Committee, and the Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control. He commanded the Congressional Squadron of theCivil Air Patrol, rising to the rank ofcolonel.^[3]

In Congress, Wolff voted for theVoting Rights Act of 1965 and the creation ofMedicare andMedicaid. He was an active participant in thecivil rights movement who attended the funeral ofMartin Luther King Jr. Wolff opposed creation of theLong Island Sound link.^[6] He was an opponent of theVietnam War.^[9] He was an advocate of stricter gun laws.^[10][11]

Wolff was known as one of the most 'travel-happy' representatives of Congress while in office, frequently going abroad on congressional 'fact-finding' tours.^[5] Wolff was part of a 1978 congressional delegation to China, where he met withDeng Xiaoping. Wolff was also the author of theTaiwan Relations Act which was signed into law on April 10, 1979.^[6] Wolff later leveraged his experience in Asian affairs to work as a paid lobbyist forMyanmar’s repressive military government.^[5]

Wolff introduced amendments to theWhite House-sponsoredForeign Assistance Act of 1969 which tried to restore the initiative for direct peace talks between Israel and theArab states.^[12] He also played a role in theCamp David Accords.^[13] Wolff was defeated for reelection in an upset by 27-year-old RepublicanJohn LeBoutillier in1980.^[4][5]

Wolff was the president of the International Trade and Development Agency. He was the director of the Pacific Community Institute atTouro College, and published numerous books onforeign policy. He hosted a weeklyPBS show,Ask Congress, continuously since the mid-1980s. Due to his expertise in Asian culture and relations, Wolff was a well sought-after consultant. He was a director of theGriffon Corporation from 1987 to 2007. In 2014, he accepted the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award in the United States, on behalf of volunteers of the Civil Air Patrol who had served during World War II.^[1]

With the death ofJames D. Martin on October 30, 2017, Wolff became the oldest living former member of Congress. Heturned 100 in January 2019. He was active on Twitter and continued to write until his death. He was a vocal opponent ofDonald Trump's presidency.^[6][14] In February 2019, Wolff donated hiscongressional papers toAdelphi University inGarden City, New York. In February 2020, theOyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge was renamed the Congressman Lester Wolff Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge.^[15]

Wolff married Blanche Silvers in 1940; she died in 1997. Lester was an observant Jew and prayed daily.^[6] Wolff died at a hospital inSyosset, New York, on May 11, 2021, at age 102. He was the last living former U.S. representative born in the 1910s.^[5]

• List of Jewish members of the United States Congress

• Kurt F. Stone (December 29, 2010).The Jews of Capitol Hill: A Compendium of Jewish Congressional Members. Scarecrow Press. pp. 230–233.ISBN 978-0-8108-7738-2.

• United States Congress."Lester L. Wolff (id: W000680)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

• Appearances onC-SPAN

• 1919 births
• 2021 deaths
• 20th-century American Jews
• 21st-century American Jews
• 21st-century American businesspeople
• American men centenarians
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• Burials at Wellwood Cemetery
• Congressional Gold Medal recipients
• Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)
• George Washington Educational Campus alumni
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• PBS hosts
• People from Oyster Bay, New York
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• Politicians from Manhattan
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• Jewish centenarians
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• 20th-century United States representatives

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from May 2021
• People appearing on C-SPAN