Frank J. Guarini

Frank Joseph Guarini Jr. (born August 20, 1924) is an American politician from New Jersey. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member in the United States House of Representatives for seven terms from 1979 to 1993. He is of Italian descent. Since the death of Al Quie in August 2023, he is the oldest living former representative.

Early life and education
Guarini was born August 20, 1924 to Frank Joseph Guarini Sr. and the former Caroline Critelli. He graduated from Lincoln High School in 1942. He served in the United States Navy aboard USS Mount McKinley from 1944 to 1946. Guarini received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College, in 1947 and a Juris Doctor degree from New York University School of Law in 1950 as well as a Master of Laws degree in 1955. He pursued graduate work at The Hague Academy of International Law and was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1951. He commenced practice in Jersey City.

Political career
Guarini served in the New Jersey Senate from 1965 to 1972. In 1970, Guarini unsuccessfully challenged incumbent U.S. Senator Harrison A. Williams in the Democratic Primary, losing 66%–34%.

Congress
Guarini was elected as a Democrat for New Jersey's 14th Congressional District to the 96th and to the six succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1993). He retired from Congress in 1993. His district number was eliminated following the 1990 Census, but in sense was succeeded by Bob Menendez in the renumbered 13th district.

Legacy
The Jersey City post office building on the corner of Montgomery and Washington has been dedicated to Guarini. John Cabot University in Rome, Italy, designated its campus as the Frank J. Guarini campus, and the library at New Jersey City University is also named in his honor.

He received the America Award of the Italy–USA Foundation in 2014.

Dartmouth has created the Frank J. Guarini Institute for International Education in recognition of his longtime support of the college. In 2018, Dartmouth further recognized him by announcing the naming of the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies in his honor.

Guarini's alma mater New York University School of Law named two of its centers/institutes after him. The Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy and Land Use Law focuses on land and environmental policy. The Guarini Institute for Global Legal Studies focuses on transnational law. After the death of Al Quie in August 2023, he became the oldest living former U.S. Representative.