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(Photo: CBS)
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Age: 62
Born: May 27, 1944; Willimantic, Conn.
Education: B.A. Providence College, 1966; J.D. University of Louisville, 1972
Military: Army Reserves, 1969-75
Family: Married (Jackie Clegg); two children
Hometown: East Haddam, Conn.
Religion: Catholic
Career: Peace Corps, Dominican Republic, 1966-68; Practicing atty., 1972-74; U.S. House of Reps., 1974-80; U.S. Senate 1980 – present.
Voted for the Iraq war resolution in October 2002.
Dodd was one of the chief sponsors of the Family and Medical Leave Act, vetoed by George H. W. Bush but signed in 1993 by Bill Clinton.
Dodd lost to Sen. Tom Daschle by one vote in the 1994 vote for a new Senate Democratic leader. After losing the 24-23 vote, President Clinton appointed Dodd Democratic Party National Chairman, a position he relinquished after the campaign finance contributions scandal during the ’96 election.
Dodd speaks fluent Spanish and often plays a role on Latin American issues. In the 1980s he took the lead in opposing U.S. military aid to El Salvador's government and aid to the Nicaraguan contras. He has long backed freer travel to Fidel Castro's Cuba and an end to the embargo on trade with Cuba.
Dodd is one of six senators who are children of former senators (Lisa Murkowski, Mark Pryor, Evan Bayh, Lincoln Chafee and Bob Bennett are the others).
Dodd’s father, Thomas Dodd, one of the Nuremberg prosecutors, served in the U.S. Senate from 1958-70 and was censured in 1967 for misusing campaign funds for personal use. In 1956, he lost a Senate race to Prescott Bush, George W. Bush's grandfather.
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