Bio
Senator Jack Francis Reed is an American politician and lawyer. He has been serving as a senior U.S. Senator from Rhode Island since 1996. He was formerly a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991 to 1997. He is also the dean of the state’s congressional delegation.
Reed was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on November 12, 1949. Reed graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point in 1971.
After his Bachelor’s degree, Reed served and earned the Ranger Tab in the military service. He also served as a paratrooper. While in the military, Reed received a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard in 1973.
After Harvard, he returned to West Point to teach Economics and International Relations from 1977 to 1979. He also worked as an associate professor in the Department of Social Sciences. Reed left active service with the rank of captain in 1979 but remained in the Army Reserve till 1991, when he retired as a Major.
After leaving active duty, Reed enrolled at Harvard Law School and earned a J.D. in 1982. He subsequently started private practice at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan in Washington. He finally returned to Rhode Island. There, he specialized in banking and securities law for a private law firm till 1990.