Thomas Stephen "Tom" Foley (March 6, 1929 – October 18, 2013) was an American lawyer and politician from the state of Washington. He was the 57th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1989 to 1995. He representedWashington's 5th congressional district for 30 years as a Democratic member from 1965 to 1995.

Foley was the first Speaker of the House since 1862 to be defeated in a re-election campaign for Congress. He served as the United States Ambassador to Japan from 1997 to 2001 under Bill Clinton.

57th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives In office June 6, 1989 – January 3, 1995 President George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton Preceded by Jim Wright Succeeded by Newt Gingrich House Majority Leader In office January 3, 1987 – June 6, 1989 Deputy Tony Coelho Preceded by Jim Wright Succeeded by Dick Gephardt House Majority Whip In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1987 Leader Jim Wright Preceded by John Brademas Succeeded by Tony Coelho Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 5th district In office January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1995 Preceded by Walt Horan Succeeded by George Nethercutt 25th United 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 Personal details Born Thomas Stephen Foley March 6, 1929 Spokane, Washington Died October 18, 2013 (aged 84) Washington, D.C. Political party Democratic Spouse(s) Heather Strachan Foley Alma mater Gonzaga University University of Washington Profession Law

Early life and legal practice

Foley was born in Spokane, Washington. In 1946, he graduated from the Jesuit-runGonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane.  He went on to attend Gonzaga Universityin Spokane and the University of Washington in Seattle, the latter awarding him aBachelor of Arts degree in 1951. In 1957, he earned a law degree from the same university.

Following law school, Foley entered private practice. In 1958, he began working in theSpokane County prosecutor's office as a deputy prosecuting attorney. Foley taught atGonzaga University Law School (in Spokane, Washington) from 1958 to 1959. In 1960, he joined the office of the State of Washington Attorney General.

In 1961, Foley moved to Washington, D.C., and joined the staff of the United States Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs as assistant chief clerk and special counsel, in which capacity he served until mid 1964 when he quit to run for Congress.

Congressional service

In 1964, Foley was unopposed for the Democratic nomination for Washington's 5th congressional seat, which included Spokane. He faced 11-term Republicanincumbent Walt Horan in the general election and won by seven points, one of many swept into office in the Democratic landslide. He was re-elected without significant difficulty until 1978, when he narrowly defeated conservative activist Duane Alton. The next race in 1980 was also close, when physician John Sonneland finished just 4 points back. Though the fifth district became increasingly conservative, Foley didn't face serious opposition again until his defeat in 1994.

In 1981, Foley was chosen majority whip by the House Democratic caucus and served in that capacity until 1987, when he moved up to the position of majority leader. In 1989,Jim Wright of Texas stepped down as Speaker of the House amid an ethics scandal, and Foley was elected to succeed him. He became the first Speaker from a state west of the Rocky Mountains.

Term limits

During his time in the House, Foley repeatedly opposed efforts to impose term 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.

Foley brought suit, challenging the constitutionality of a state law setting eligibility requirements on federal offices. Foley won his suit, with federal courts declaring that states did not have the authority under the U.S. Constitution to limit the terms of federal officeholders.

However, in Foley's bid for a 16th term in the House, his Republican opponent, George Nethercutt, used the issue against him, repeatedly 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 (but ultimately served for five terms). Foley lost in a narrow race that coincided with theRepublican electoral triumph of 1994. While Foley had usually relied on large margins in Spokane itself to carry him to victory, in 1994 he only won Spokane by 9,000 votes while Nethercutt did well enough in the rest of the district to win overall by just under 4,000 votes. At the time, it was reported that some voters believed mistakenly that if he beat Foley, Nethercutt would become the new speaker of the House.

Foley became the first sitting Speaker of the House to lose his bid for re-election since Galusha Grow in 1862. He is sometimes viewed as a political casualty of the term limits controversy of the early 1990s. President Bill Clinton attributed his defeat to his support for the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994. 

Electoral history

Here is a chart of the vote in his elections. There are subtotals for the city of Spokane, rural Spokane County, and a Spokane total, as this is the main part of the 5th Congressional District.