Tom Loftus
United States Ambassador to Norway
In office November 18, 1993 – December 22, 1997
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Loret Miller Ruppe
Succeeded by	David B. Hermelin
70th Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly
In office January 3, 1983 – January 7, 1991
Preceded by	Edward Jackamonis
Succeeded by	Walter Kunicki
Majority Leader of theWisconsin State Assembly
In office January 5, 1981 – January 3, 1983
Preceded by	Gary K. Johnson
Succeeded by	Gary K. Johnson
Member of theWisconsin State Assembly
In office January 7, 1985 – January 7, 1991
Preceded by	Jim Holperin
Succeeded by	Rudy Silbaugh
Constituency	46th district
In office January 3, 1983 – January 7, 1985
Preceded by	John M. Young
Succeeded by	John M. Young
Constituency	99th district
In office January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1983
Preceded by	David D. O'Malley
Succeeded by	Jim Holperin
Constituency	46th district
Personal details
Born	Thomas A. Loftus (1945-04-24)April 24, 1945 (age 80) Stoughton, Wisconsin, U.S.
Party	Democratic
Spouse	Barbara Carolyn Schasse ​ ​ (m. 1969)​
Children	2
Education	University of Wisconsin–Whitewater(B.S.) University of Wisconsin–Madison(M.P.P.A.)
Awards	Royal Norwegian Order of Merit
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1965–1967
Battles/wars	Vietnam War

Thomas Adolph Loftus (born April 24, 1945) is a retired American diplomat, educator, andDemocratic politician fromDane County, Wisconsin. He wasUnited States Ambassador to Norway from 1993 through 1997, during thepresidency of Bill Clinton, served as an advisor and representative of theWorld Health Organization, and most recently was a member of theUniversity of Wisconsin Board of Regents, retiring in 2011. He is also the author of the award-winning memoir, "Mission to Oslo: Dancing with the Queen, Dealmaking with the Russians, Shaping History" (Little Creek Press, 2024).

Prior to his diplomatic service, he was the 70thspeaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly (1983–1991) at the culmination of a 14-year career in theWisconsin Legislature, and was the Democratic nominee forGovernor of Wisconsin in the1990 election.

Tom Loftus was born inStoughton, Wisconsin, on April 24, 1945. He was raised and educated in Dane County, graduating from Sun Prairie High School in 1963. He served in theUnited States Army for two years in the midst of theVietnam War before returning to his education in Wisconsin.^[1] He received his bachelor's degree from theUniversity of Wisconsin–Whitewater in 1970, and immediately went on to complete hisMaster of Public Policy and Administration at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison in 1971.^[1]

Loftus became involved in politics with theDemocratic Party of Wisconsin from an early age, and went to work as a legislative aide in theWisconsin State Assembly immediately after completing his education. For two years, he was an administrative aide to Assembly speakerNorman C. Anderson. In the spring of 1976, he worked as a campaign organizer forMo Udall during his unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic nomination for the presidency.^[2]

Later that year, incumbent state representativeDavid D. O'Malley announced he would not run for another term in the Assembly, and Loftus decided to enter the race to succeed him. He faced three other candidates in the Democraticprimary, but prevailed with nearly 47% of the vote. He defeated Republican Shirley Thompson in the general election.^[3] Loftus went on to win six more terms in the Assembly.

Loftus began looking to move into caucus leadership in his second term. He challengedR. Michael Ferrall for his role as assistant majority leader before the start of the 1979 session, but lost that election. Later in that term, Loftus made a bid for majority leader whenJames W. Wahner resigned, but he again fell short in the early rounds of the caucus vote.^[4] Loftus finally won a leadership position after the 1980 general election, defeatingThomas A. Hauke to become Assembly majority leader.^[5] Two years later, he was unanimously electedspeaker.^[6]

He ultimately became the longest-serving Democratic speaker in Wisconsin history, serving four terms. Loftus frequently sparred with Republican governorTommy Thompson after his election in 1986, and by the summer of 1989 the Wisconsin political press was already expecting Loftus to challenge Thompson in the1990 gubernatorial election.^[7] Loftus did ultimately challenge Thompson in the election. He faced no opposition for the Democratic nomination but fell far short in the general election, receiving just 42% of the vote.^[8]

After losing the gubernatorial election, Loftus took a short break from politics to teach, first spending a semester at theHarvard Institute of Politics,^[9] then spending a semester at theEagleton Institute of Politics atRutgers University.^[10]

Loftus returned to politics in early 1992, when he endorsedBill Clinton in his presidential primary campaign, and then became chairman of Clinton's Wisconsin campaign organization.^[11] Shortly after Clinton won the presidency, Loftus was nominated to becomeUnited States Ambassador to Norway.^[12] His nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 3, 1993.^[13][14][15]

Loftus served as ambassador for four years, stepping down in December 1997 to significant acclaim. Before leaving Norway, he was presented with the Grand Cross, the highest order of theRoyal Norwegian Order of Merit, by KingHarald V.^[16] He quickly accepted another diplomatic post, however, becoming a special advisor to the director-general of theWorld Health Organization inGeneva. He also became outspoken back in Wisconsin on diplomatic causes, advocating for the United States to support the admission of Poland and the Baltic states into theEuropean Union.^[17]

After Clinton left office, Loftus became a representative of the World Health Organization in the United States. He remained active in state politics as a senior statesman, admonishing state government for recent ethical problems. He also reconciled with his former rival, Tommy Thompson, who was then serving asUnited States Secretary of Health and Human Services.^[18] During these years, Loftus endorsed a number of ethics reforms in the state and partnered with former Republican governorLee S. Dreyfus in supporting the creation ofWisconsinEye, a nonprofit cable network covering the state government.^[19][20] In 2005, Loftus was appointed to theUniversity of Wisconsin Board of Regents by governorJim Doyle, and later that year he became president of WisconsinEye.^[21][22] Loftus remained involved in WisconsinEye through its launch in 2007. He remained on the board of regents until 2011, when he retired.^[23]

Loftus still resides inSun Prairie, Wisconsin, and has remained outspoken about international affairs, frequently writing a guest column in theWisconsin State Journal andThe Capital Times.^[24][25] After Tommy Thompson was chosen interim president of theUniversity of Wisconsin System, in 2020, he selected Loftus as an advisor to help him prepare for the job.^[26]

Tom Loftus was one of four children born to Adolph Loftus and his wife Margaret Elaine (née Nielsen). Both parents were the children of immigrants, Adolph's parents had emigrated from Norway. Margaret's father had come from Denmark.^[27]

Tom Loftus married Barbara Carolyn Schasse on August 23, 1969.^[28] They had at least two children together.^[29]

• 1945 births
• Living people
• People from Stoughton, Wisconsin
• Politicians from Dane County, Wisconsin
• People from Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
• University of Wisconsin–Whitewater alumni
• University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
• Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly
• Speakers of the Wisconsin State Assembly
• Ambassadors of the United States to Norway
• American people of Norwegian descent
• American people of Danish descent
• 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata