William Delahunt
1941 -
Politician
William D. Delahunt represents the Tenth Congressional District of Massachusetts -- which includes Cape Cod, the Islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, and Boston's South Shore, from Quincy to Plymouth.
Rep. Delahunt came to Congress in 1996 with a distinguished career in public service and law enforcement, and as a pioneer in combating the crimes of domestic violence and sexual assault. He has since been reelected three times with more than 70 percent of the vote.
Congressman Delahunt serves on two House committees, each with important ties to Massachusetts. On the International Relations Committee , Mr. Delahunt draws on his long interest in international trade and human rights, global fisheries and overseas business opportunities. Delahunt serves on the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, where he has become a leading advocate for promoting democracy and the rule of law in Latin America; and on the Europe Subcommittee, which has focused on the evolving relationship between the United States and the European Union.
As a member of the Judiciary Committee , Representative Delahunt brings two decades of experience as a District Attorney -- and lifelong commitment to safeguarding civil rights -- to the federal arena. As District Attorney, he established the first prosecutorial unit on domestic violence in the United States. He also pioneered work in the area of violence against women, launching programs that became models for prosecutors nationally and abroad.
Mr. Delahunt now serves on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, which shepherds a wide range of new technologies, from the Internet to marine-biotech -- areas of enormous commercial potential. The Subcommittee oversees the federal court system, as well as patent, copyright and trademark law. In addition, Representative Delahunt serves on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Law.
Rep. Delahunt co-chairs the bipartisan Coast Guard Caucus , and also co-chairs the House Older Americans Caucus .
As former Assistant Majority Leader of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Mr. Delahunt sponsored the first Civil Rights Act in the Commonwealth. He represented the City of Quincy in the State House from 1973 to 1975, when he became District Attorney. In 1971, Mr. Delahunt was elected to the Quincy City Council. During the preceding two years, he served as Assistant Clerk of the Norfolk Superior Court, and as Legal Counsel to the Quincy Police Department. He was in private practice from 1971 to 1975.
A 1963 graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont, Mr. Delahunt later went on to earn a law degree from Boston College in 1967. He served from 1963 to 1971 in the Coast Guard Reserves.
The Congressman is the son of the late Ruth and Bill Delahunt Sr., a sales manager. He is a lifelong resident of Quincy, and the exceedingly proud father of Kirstin and Kara (adopted fromVietnam as part of Operation Babylift).
Credits: U.S. House of Representatives
