Leahy, Patrick J. (Patrick Joseph), 1940-

Patrick Joseph Leahy (born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney. A member of the Democratic Party, he has represented Vermont in the U.S. Senate since 1975. Leahy has twice served as president pro tempore of the United States Senate, from December 2012 until January 2015 and since January 2021. The dean of the state's congressional delegation, Leahy is Vermont's longest-serving U.S. Senator, as well as the only Democrat ever elected to the U.S. Senate from Vermont.

Born in Montpelier, Vermont, he graduated from St. Michael's High School there before earning a B.A. from Saint Michael's College in Colchester, Vermont and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. He was admitted to the Vermont bar and became an associate at the firm headed by Philip H. Hoff, then serving as governor of Vermont. In May 1966, Hoff appointed Leahy State's Attorney of Chittenden County. Leahy was elected to a full term in 1966 and reelected in 1970. Though he aspired to the governorship, Leahy ran for the U.S. Senate in 1974, winning a close race against Republican Congressman Richard W. Mallary in the wake of the Watergate scandal. At age 34, Leahy was the youngest U.S. senator in Vermont history and the first non-Republican senator from Vermont since 1856.

Now in his eighth term, Leahy is the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He is the senior-most member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Leahy is the Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on State Department, Foreign Operations and Related Programs. Active on human rights issues, Leahy is the leading U.S. officeholder in the international campaign against the production, export and use of anti-personnel landmines. Leahy is the chief sponsor of the Innocence Protection Act, which addresses flaws in the administration of capital punishment. Always ranked among the top environmental legislators by the nation's foremost conservation organizations, Leahy successfully opposed attempts to allow oil and gas exploration in wildlife refuges in the United States, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska and the Missisquoi Wildlife Refuge in Vermont. Leahy has crusaded for the protection of privacy rights, copyright protections and freedom of speech on the Internet. He was a co-founder and remains a co-chair of the Congressional Internet Caucus. A leader on Internet and technology issues, Leahy was the second senator to post a homepage. His website consistently has been named one of the Senate's best.