James L. Buckley

He married Ann Frances Cooley in 1953 and the couple has five sons and a daughter.

His wife Ann Frances Cooley passed away on December 30, 2011.

He is the elder brother of William Frank Buckley, Jr., the founder of the conservative magazine ‘National Review’. His brother, Fergus Reid Buckley is a famous writer, speaker, and educator.

James L. Buckley was born to William Frank Buckley, Sr., and Aloise Josephine Antonia. His father was a prominent lawyer and businessman who played a leading role in the Mexican politics during the reign of President Victoriano Huerta. He was the fifth child of the ten children born to his parents.

He was enlisted in the United States Navy in 1942 and was discharged from the navy with the rank of lieutenant in 1946.

After getting his law degree from Yale Law School, he joined the Connecticut bar in 1950 and practiced law until 1953.

In 1957, he joined ‘The Catawba Corporation’ as their vice-president, a position he held till 1970. The same year he represented the Conservative Party for the U.S. Senate.

He defeated the Republican Charles Goodell and the Democratic nominee Richard Ottinger and was elected as the Senator from New York in 1971.

In 1976 he lost the re-election and in 1980 he received a nomination once again but he lost this time as well.

Under the presidency of Ronald Reagan, he first served as the undersecretary of United States Department of State, before becoming the President of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a broadcaster aided by the U.S. Congress.

In 1985, he was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and in 1996, he became a senior judge in the Court.

In 1974, he introduced the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act which administers the education records of students.

He also authored a few books including ‘If Men Were Angels: A View From the Senate’, ‘Gleanings from an Unplanned Life: An Annotated Oral History’ and ‘Freedom at Risk: Reflections on Politics’, Liberty, and the State’.

His ‘Gleanings from an Unplanned Life: An Annotated Oral History’ is slightly biographical in nature. Through this book, the author offers an account of his transformation from a highly private businessman/lawyer into what he calls an “unplanned life”. It also provides an insight to the serious problems faced by the American society.

In ‘Freedom at Risk: Reflections on Politics, Liberty, and the State’ he explains how the government has failed time and again in dealing with the major economic issues faced by the country.