Advisory Board of Governors
Thomas S. Foley
Former Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives
Mr. Foley has served as the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and ambassador to Japan. He served in the US Congress from 1965 to 1995. His thirty year career in Congress was notable for its length and for his steady climb up the ranks of the Congressional and Party leadership.
Ambassador Thomas S. Foley advises clients on matters of legal and corporate strategy. He is currently the chairman of the Trilateral Commission.
Ambassador Foley served as the 25th U.S. ambassador to Japan. Before taking up his diplomatic post in November 1997, Ambassador Foley served as the 49th speaker of the House of Representatives.
Mr. Foley served as majority leader from 1987 until his election as speaker on June 6, 1989. From 1981 to 1987 he served as majority whip, the number three position in the House Leadership. He also was a chairman of both the House Democratic Caucus and the Democratic Study Group.
During his years in Congress, Mr. Foley was a member of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. He served as chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.
As majority leader, Mr. Foley served on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on the Budget, the Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran, and as chairman of the House Geneva Arms Talks Observer Team.
In 1995, following his career in Congress, Ambassador Foley joined Akin Gump as a partner.
Ambassador Foley has served on a number of private and public boards of directors, including the Japan-America Society of Washington. He also served on the board of advisors for the Center for Strategic and International Studies and on the board of directors for the Center for National Policy. He was a member of the board of governors of the East-West Center and is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Before his appointment as ambassador, he served as chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.
In 1996 the government of Japan conferred upon him the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, Paulowina Flowers, in recognition of his service to the U.S. House of Representatives and the important impact he had in facilitating harmonious U.S.-Japan relations and promoting understanding of Japan in the United States.
Ambassador Foley is a native of Spokane, Washington, and a graduate of the University of Washington and its School of Law. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.
Ambassador Foley is married to the former Heather Strachan. They reside in Washington, D.C., and Spokane, Washington.
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