Senator John C. Danforth, during his 26 years in public office, focused on bringing economic growth and a better future to America and Missouri. Since joining the firm, he has been involved in a wide array of activities important to St. Louis, including his leadership of the Danforth Foundation.

During his 18 years in the U.S. Senate, Senator Danforth served on the Finance Committee, the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence. The Finance Committee’s jurisdiction includes federal taxation and international trade. Senator Danforth’s legislative initiatives included the Research and Development Tax Credit and the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. As chairman or ranking Republican on the Subcommittee on International Trade, he was involved in all trade legislation enacted by Congress from adoption of the Tobago Round of GATT in 1979 to adoption of NAFTA in 1994.

Senator Danforth served as a member, ranking Republican and chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation – the committee with jurisdiction over the nation’s transportation policy. He was the author of portions of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, and of legislation to establish Airport Passenger Facility Charges. Senator Danforth spearheaded efforts that ultimately resulted in TWA employees’ buyout of the company.

In 2004, Danforth represented the United States as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations where he focused on ending the North/South civil war in Sudan, a 20 year conflict that killed two million people and displaced five million others. A peace agreement between the two sides was ultimately signed in Nairobi, Kenya on January 9, 2005. Prior to his U.N. appointment, President Bush named Danforth Special Envoy for Peace in Sudan in 2001.

In September, 1999, Danforth was appointed Special Counsel by Attorney General Janet Reno to investigate the federal raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. The investigation entailed interviewing over 1,000 witnesses and examining over 2.3 million pages of documents along with thousands of pounds of physical evidence. The investigation was completed in just over a year where it was concluded that Government agents were not responsible for the devastation at Waco.

Senator Danforth served as the attorney general of Missouri from 1969-1975.

Bar and Court Admissions

Missouri, 1966

District of Columbia, 1994

New York, 1964

United States Supreme Court

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri

Education

Yale University, LL.B., 1963

Yale University-Divinity School, B.D., 1963

Princeton University, A.B., with honors, 1958