Philip Sharp | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIndiana | |
| In office January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1995 | |
| Preceded by | David W. Dennis |
| Succeeded by | David McIntosh |
| Constituency | 10th district (1975–1983) 2nd district (1983–1995) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Philip Riley Sharp (1942-07-15)July 15, 1942 (age 83) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | DePauw University Georgetown University (BA,MA,PhD) Exeter College, Oxford |
Philip Riley Sharp (born July 15, 1942) is an American politician and nonprofit executive who served ten terms in theUnited States House of Representatives as aDemocratic representative fromIndiana from 1975 to 1995.
In1988 and1990, Sharp defeated future U.S. Vice PresidentMike Pence.[1]
Sharp was born inBaltimore, Maryland, in 1942. He grew up inElwood, Indiana. After graduating as a valedictorian from Wendell Willkie High School in 1960, he attendedDePauw University in 1961. He then transferred and graduatedcum laude from theEdmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service atGeorgetown University in 1964.
In 1966, he enrolled in graduate courses atExeter College,Oxford University in 1966 before returning to Georgetown University to earn his Ph.D. in 1974. Between 1967 and in 1974, he taught political science as an assistant professor, and later associate professor, at Ball State University.[2]
Between 1964 and 1969, he served as a Legislative Aide to Democratic senatorVance Hartke. His first attempts at elected office came in 1970 and 1972, when he was the Democratic candidate forIndiana's 10th congressional district.[2]
In 1974, Sharp was elected to the House of Representatives as part of the "Watergate Babies" cohort, 47 new Democrats elected in the aftermath of thescandals that drove PresidentRichard Nixon from office.[3]
During his years in Congress, Sharp participated in the passage of major energy legislation. As chairman of the Energy and Power Subcommittee, he played key roles in the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments and the 1992 Energy Policy Act. He was a member of the National Research CouncilCommittee on Effectiveness and Impact of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards, which issued its major report in 2001. He also chaired the Secretary of Energy's Electric Systems Reliability Task Force, which issued its major report in 1998.[2]
Sharp chose not to seek re-election in the1994 elections, and was succeeded by RepublicanDavid M. McIntosh.[4]
Sharp went on to serve as director of theInstitute of Politics atHarvard University'sJohn F. Kennedy School of Government.[2] In 2005, he became president of the nonpartisan think tankResources for the Future in Washington, D.C.
Sharp serves on the board of directors of the Duke Energy Corporation, as vice chair on the board of the Energy Foundation, and as chair of board of ecoAmerica. He is the congressional chair for the National Commission on Energy Policy, is a member of The National Academies’ Committee on America's Climate Choices and the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future. Before joining RFF, Sharp was senior policy advisor of theWashington, D.C.–based law and public policy firmVan Ness Feldman.[5]
Sharp received honorary degrees from DePauw University in 1986 and Ball State University in 1997.[2] For his work on energy issues while in Congress, Sharp became in 2016 the second recipient of the James R. Schlesinger Medal for Energy Security, an honor given by theU.S. Department of Energy.[6][7]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIndiana's 10th congressional district 1975–1983 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIndiana's 2nd congressional district 1983–1995 | 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 |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
