James W. Symington

James Wadsworth Symington (born September 28, 1927) is an American retired lawyer and politician from Missouri. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for four terms from 1969 to 1977. Prior to that, in the late 1960s, he served as Chief of Protocol of the United States.

Youth, family, and education
Symington, son of Stuart Symington (U.S. senator, Missouri) and Evelyn (Wadsworth) Symington, was born on September 28, 1927, in Rochester, New York. He is the great-grandson of James W. Wadsworth (U.S. Congress, New York) and grandson of James W. Wadsworth Jr. (U.S. Congress, New York) and great-grandson of John Hay. James attended St. Bernard's School in New York City, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School in St. Louis. In 1945, he graduated from Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at the age of 17. He served in the Marine Corps as a Private first class from 1945 to 1946. Symington earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University in 1950 where he sang as a member of The Whiffenpoofs and the Glee Club. He also joined Berzelius secret society (according to the 1950 Yale Banner). He graduated from Columbia Law School in 1954.

Early legal career and public service
After graduating from law school, Symington served for two years as Assistant City Counselor (1954–1955) for St. Louis. In 1958, Symington entered the United States Foreign Service and was posted to London as assistant to John Hay Whitney, the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom and his cousin once removed on his mother's side. He served in this role until 1960, when he returned to private practice in Washington, D.C., where he served in a series of roles in government from 1961 to 1968: deputy director, Food for Peace (1961–1962); administrative assistant to United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy (1962–1963); director, President's Committee on Juvenile Delinquency (1965–1966); consultant, President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice (1965–1966); and Chief of Protocol of the United States (1966–1968).

Congressional career
In 1968, Symington was elected to the 91st United States Congress to represent Missouri's 2nd congressional district. He served four terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977. While in Congress, he served on the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the United States House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, chairing the subcommittees on Space Science and Applications; Science, Research & Technology; and International Cooperation.

In the 1976 election, he chose not to seek his seat for a fifth term; rather, he made an unsuccessful bid for the Democratic nomination to fill the United States Senate seat vacated by his father, who retired after serving four terms. He faced Missouri Governor Warren E. Hearnes and Congressman Jerry Litton in the Democratic primary. Litton won the primary but was killed when his plane crashed en route to the victory party. Hearnes was named the Democratic candidate and ultimately lost to Republican Party candidate John Danforth. At the end of his congressional term, Symington returned to the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Smathers, Symington & Herlong as a partner.

Post-congressional roles
Symington served as director of The Atlantic Council from 1986 to 2001, and as director of the Library of Congress Russian Leadership Program in 2001. In 1992, he founded the American-Russian Cultural Cooperation Foundation, which he chaired from its inception until 2015. Symington was awarded the Order of Friendship by President of Russia Vladimir Putin in 2008. He also made occasional appearances as a singer.

Symington appeared as a commentator in the 1990 Ken Burns film The Civil War. As of 2001, he was practicing law with the law firm of Nossaman LLP/O'Connor & Hannan, where he specializes in legislative and administrative representation. Symington is also a writer. A collection of his poems, songs, and prose, A Muse 'N Washington: Beltway Ballads and Beyond , was published in 1999.