Tom Foley
25thUnited States Ambassador to Japan
In office November 19, 1997 – April 1, 2001
President	Bill Clinton George W. Bush
Preceded by	Walter Mondale
Succeeded by	Howard Baker
Chair of thePresident's Intelligence Advisory Board
In office January 16, 1996 – November 19, 1997
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Warren Rudman (acting)
Succeeded by	Warren Rudman
49thSpeaker of the United States House of Representatives
In office June 6, 1989 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by	Jim Wright
Succeeded by	Newt Gingrich
House positions Leader of theHouse Democratic Caucus In office June 6, 1989 – January 3, 1995 Preceded by Jim Wright Succeeded by Dick Gephardt House Majority Leader In office January 3, 1987 – June 6, 1989 Leader Jim Wright Preceded by Jim Wright Succeeded by Dick Gephardt House Majority Whip In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1987 Leader Tip O'Neill Preceded by John Brademas Succeeded by Tony Coelho Chair of theHouse Democratic Caucus In office January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1981 Leader Tip O'Neill Preceded by Phillip Burton Succeeded by Gillis Long Chair of theHouse Agriculture Committee In office January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1981 Preceded by William Poage Succeeded by Kika de la Garza
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWashington's5th district
In office January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by	Walt Horan
Succeeded by	George Nethercutt
Personal details
Born	Thomas Stephen Foley (1929-03-06)March 6, 1929 Spokane, Washington, U.S.
Died	October 18, 2013(2013-10-18) (aged 84) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Party	Democratic
Spouse	Heather Strachan ​ (m. 1968)​
Education	Gonzaga University University of Washington (BA,JD)
Foley's voice Foley on the death of former First LadyJacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Recorded May 23, 1994

Thomas Stephen Foley (March 6, 1929 – October 18, 2013) was an American lawyer, diplomat, and politician who served as the 49thspeaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1989 to 1995. A member of theDemocratic Party, Foley representedWashington's 5th congressional district for 30 years(1965–1995). He was the first Speaker of the House in over a century sinceGalusha Grow in1862 to be defeated in a re-election campaign.^[1][2]

Born inSpokane, Washington, Foley attendedGonzaga University and pursued a legal career, after graduating from theUniversity of Washington School of Law inSeattle. He joined the staff of SenatorHenry M. Jackson, after working as a prosecutor and an assistant attorney general. With Jackson's support, Foley won election to the House of Representatives, defeating incumbentRepublican CongressmanWalt Horan. He served as Majority Whip from 1981 to 1987, and as Majority Leader from 1987 to 1989. After the resignation ofJim Wright, Foley became Speaker of the House.

Foley's district had become increasingly conservative during his tenure, but he won re-election throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. In the1994 election, Foley faced attorneyGeorge Nethercutt. Nethercutt mobilized popular anger over Foley's opposition toterm limits, leading to his defeat.^[3] After leaving the House, Foley served as theUnited States Ambassador to Japan from 1997 to 2001 under PresidentBill Clinton.

Born and raised inSpokane, Washington,^[4][5] Foley was the son of Helen Marie (née Higgins)(1902–1990), a school teacher,^[6] and Ralph E. Foley(1900–1985), a Superior Court judge for 34 years.^[7] He was ofIrish Catholic descent on both sides of his family;^[8] his grandfather Cornelius Foley was a maintenance foreman for theGreat Northern railroad inSpokane.^[7]

Foley graduated from theJesuit-runGonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane in 1946 and attendedGonzaga University^[9] for three years; he completed his bachelor's degree at theUniversity of Washington in Seattle, then attended itsSchool of Law and was awarded aJuris Doctor degree in 1957.

Following law school, Foley entered private practice. In 1958, he began working in theSpokane County prosecutor's office as a deputyprosecuting attorney,^[10] and later taught at Gonzaga'sSchool of Law (in Spokane) from 1958 to 1959. He joined thestate attorney general's office in 1961 as an assistant attorney general.^[10]

In 1961, Foley moved to Washington, D.C., and joined the staff of SenatorHenry M. Jackson.^[10] He left Jackson's office in 1964 to run for Congress.^[10]

In 1964, Foley was unopposed for the Democratic nomination for Washington's5th congressional seat,^[11] which included Spokane. He faced 11-termRepublican incumbentWalt Horan in thegeneral election and won by seven points, one of many swept into office in the1964 Democratic landslide. He was re-elected without significant difficulty until 1978, when in a 3-person race, he won only 48% of the vote. Two years later, he narrowly defeated Republican candidate John Sonneland (52% to 48%). Though the fifth district became increasingly conservative, Foley didn't face serious opposition again until his defeat in1994. Foley voted in favor of theVoting Rights Act of 1965,^[12][13] theCivil Rights Act of 1968,^[14][15] thebill establishingMartin Luther King Jr. Day as afederal holiday,^[16] and theCivil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 (as well as to overridePresident Reagan's veto).^[17][18]

During his first term in the House, Foley was appointed to theAgriculture Committee and theInterior and Insular Affairs Committee. He served on the latter committee through 1975, when he became chairman of the Agriculture Committee. In 1981, when Foley was appointedMajority Whip, he left the Agriculture Committee to serve on the House Administration Committee. Six years later, January 1987, he was elected House Majority Leader.

In June 1989,Jim Wright ofTexas resigned asSpeaker of the House of Representatives (only the fourth speaker ever to resign) and from Congress amid aHouse Ethics Committee investigation into his personal business dealings.^[19] In the June 6 election to succeed Wright, Foley was the victor, receiving 251 votes; his Republican opponent, Minority LeaderRobert H. Michel, received 164 votes.^[20]

During the101st Congress, Foley presided over the House as it passed a landmark update to the 1963Clean Air Act, measures protecting persons with disabilities, theAmericans with Disabilities Act and theIndividuals with Disabilities Education Act, as well as theBudget Enforcement Act of 1990. The budget act, a part of the massiveOmnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, established the "pay-as-you-go" process for discretionary spending and taxes, and was signed into law by PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush on November 5, 1990, contrary to his1988campaign promise not to raise taxes. This became a significant issue during the1992 presidential campaign.^[21]

In 1993, the103rd Congress passed anomnibus budget bill through which the government was able to raise additional revenue and balance the federal budget. Signed into law by PresidentBill Clinton on August 10, 1993, the measure stirred controversy because of the tax increases it imposed.^[21] Under Foley's leadership Congress also passed theFamily and Medical Leave Act of 1993, theNorth American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act,^[21] as well as theBrady Handgun Violence Prevention Act plus legislation that laid the groundwork for the "Don't ask, don't tell" military service policy in 1993 which was then instituted by theClinton Administration in 1994.

During his time in the House, Foley repeatedly opposed efforts to imposeterm limits on Washington state's elected officials, winning the support of the state's voters to reject term limits in a 1991 referendum; however, in 1992, a term limit ballot initiative was approved by the state's voters.^[10]

Foley brought suit, challenging the constitutionality of a state law setting eligibility requirements on federal offices. Foley won his suit, with aUnited States District Court declaring that states did not have the authority under theUnited States Constitution to limit the terms of federal officeholders.^[22]

However, in Foley's bid for a 16th term in the House, hisRepublican opponent,George Nethercutt, used the issue against him, citing the caption of the federal case brought by Foley, "Foley against the People of the State of Washington". Nethercutt vowed that if elected, he would not serve more than three terms in the House, though he ultimately served for five. Foley lost in a narrow race. While Foley had usually relied on large margins in Spokane to carry him to victory, in 1994 he won Spokane by only 9,000 votes, while Nethercutt did well enough in the rest of the district to win overall by just under 4,000 votes. Since Foley left office, no Democrat has garnered more than 45 percent of the district's vote.

Foley became the first incumbent Speaker of the House to lose his bid for re-election sinceGalusha A. Grow in 1862. He is sometimes viewed as a political casualty of the term limits controversy of the early 1990s. President Clinton attributed Foley's defeat to his support for theFederal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994.^[23] Foley lost his seat in theRepublican Revolution.^[24]

From 1995 to 1998, Foley was head of theFederal City Council, a group of business, civic, education, and other leaders interested in economic development in Washington, D.C.^[25]

In 1997, Foley was appointed as the 25thU.S. Ambassador to Japan by President Bill Clinton,^[26] and was part of the US government response to thedeaths of Japanese schoolchildren caused by a US submarine. He served as ambassador until 2001.

Foley was aWashington delegate to the 2004 and 2012 Democratic National Conventions.^{[citation needed]} On July 9, 2003,GovernorGary Locke awarded theWashington Medal of Merit, the state's highest honor, to Foley.^[27] He was North American Chairman of theTrilateral Commission.^[28]

Foley died at his home in Washington, D.C. on October 18, 2013, following months ofhospice care after suffering a series of strokes and a bout withpneumonia.^[29] He was 84 and was survived by his wife, Heather. Services were held at St. Aloysius Church atGonzaga University, as well as in Washington, D.C.^[30][31] SpeakerJohn Boehner, andNancy Pelosi, who had also served as Speaker, issued statements honoring Foley.^[32] In a White House statement, PresidentBarack Obama called Foley a "legend of the United States Congress" who "represented the people of Washington's 5th district with skill, dedication, and a deep commitment to improving the lives of those he was elected to serve.", going on to praise Foley for his bipartisanship and subsequent ambassadorial service under former president Clinton.^[33] Vice PresidentJoe Biden also released an official statement, saying "Tom was a good friend and a dedicated public servant.", citing his work in Congress with Foley in the 1980s on budgetary issues.^[34] Washington governorJay Inslee also released a statement, acknowledging Foley's efforts to reach consensus and emphasize mutual common ground, and his work in the legal system and in Congress. Former presidentGeorge H. W. Bush stated that Foley "represented the very best in public service--and our political system" and "never got personal or burned bridges."^[35]

• HonoraryKnight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (UK).^[36][37]
• Order of Merit (Germany).^[28]
• Légion d'honneur (France).^[28]
• Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers, Grand Cordon (Japan), 1995.^[28]
• Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service atWashington State University. Established in 1995.
• Thomas S. Foley Memorial Highway (U.S. Route 395), dedicated in 2018.^[38]

• November 3, 1964:

• November 8, 1966:

• November 5, 1968:

• November 3, 1970:

• November 7, 1972:

• November 5, 1974:

• November 2, 1976:

• November 7, 1978:

• November 4, 1980:

• November 2, 1982:

• November 6, 1984:

• November 4, 1986:

• November 8, 1988:

• November 6, 1990:

• November 3, 1992:

• November 8, 1994:

• June 6, 1989:

1989 intra-termSpeaker of the House election – 101st Congress[20][55]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percent
	Democratic	Tom Foley (Washington)	251	60.19%
	Republican	Robert H. Michel (Illinois)	164	39.33%
Answered "present"			2	0.48%
Total votes:			417	100%

• January 3, 1991:

1991Speaker of the House election – 102nd Congress[20][56][57]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percent
	Democratic	Tom Foley (Washington)	262	61.07%
	Republican	Robert H. Michel (Illinois)	165	38.47%
Answered "present"			2	0.46%
Total votes:			429	100%

• January 5, 1993:

1993Speaker of the House election – 103rd Congress[20][56][58]
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percent
	Democratic	Tom Foley (Washington)	255	59.16%
	Republican	Robert H. Michel (Illinois)	174	40.38%
Answered "present"			2	0.46%
Total votes:			431	100%

• Bird, R. Kenton and John C. Pierce,Tom Foley: The Man in the Middle, University Press of Kansas, 2023.ISBN 978-0700634651.

• United States Congress."Tom Foley (id: F000239)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Appearances onC-SPAN

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