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Stephen Solarz

(1940 - 2010)

Stephen Joshua Solarz was a Jewish American politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Solarz (born September 12, 1940; died November 29, 2010) was born in New York City and recieved his B.A. from Brandeis University in 1962. He earned an M.A. in public law and government from Columbia University in 1967 and taught political science at Brooklyn (N.Y.) College from 1967 to 1968.

From 1969 to 1974, Solarz served in the New York State assembly. In November 1974, Solarz was elected as a Democrat to represent New York's 13th district in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was subsequently re-elected eight times, serving until January 1993. Solarz was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1992.

After his congressional career, Solarz was appointed by President Clinton as chairman of the Central Asian-American Enterprise Fund and served in that capacity from 1993 to 1998.

In 1994, Solarz was a leading candidate to be nominated as the United States Ambassador to India, however he was forced to withdraw from consideration after scrutiny of his efforts to obtain a visa for a Hong Kong businessman with a criminal record. 

Solarz died of esophageal cancer on November 29, 2010 in Washington, D.C. at the age of 70.


Sources: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress; Wikipedia