Ron Wyden

(1949 - )

Ron Wyden is a Jewish American politician and currently the senior Senator representing Oregon.

Wyden (born May 3, 1949) was born in Wichita, Kansas to parents who had both fled from Nazi Germany. He grew up in Palo Alto, California, and later attended the University of California-Santa Barbara on a basketball scholarship. He transferred to Stanford University during college and graduated from there. Wyden earned his law degree from the University of Oregon School of Law in 1974, and worked as director of Oregon Legal Services for the Elderly and co-director of the Oregon Gray Panthers, as well as being appointed to the Oregon State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators.

Before his election to the U.S. Senate, Ron Wyden served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 15 years.

In the Senate, Wyden takes on a heavy workload, serving on five important committees that deal with issues important to Oregon families -- the Budget Committee; the Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee; the Energy & Natural Resources Committee; the Environment & Public Works Committee; and the Special Committee on Aging.  Senator Wyden is also a member of the bi-partisan Senate Reform Task Force.

Sources: U.S. Senate