Former U.S. Senator, Ambassador Jim Sasser dies at 87

Jim Sasser, three-term U.S. senator from Tennessee and former ambassador to China, died Sept. 10, 2024 at the age of 87.  

Sasser died at his home in Chapel Hill, N.C., days before what would have been his 88th birthday, according to his family. 

Born in Memphis, Sasser served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves from 1957 to 1961 while earning both his undergraduate degree and law degree from Vanderbilt University. He was admitted to the Tennessee State Bar in 1961 and served as a manager of Albert Gore Sr.’s 1970 re-election campaign. In 1973, he served as chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Executive Committee. 

He then was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1976, serving until 1995. During his senate career, he served as chair of the Senate Budget Committee and was instrumental in reauthorizing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.  

Sasser was then appointed as U.S. ambassador to China by then-President Bill Clinton, a position he held from 1996 to 1999. After his retirement, he served as a consultant to several international companies including FedEx and APCO.  

Most recently, he served on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s advisory board of the Honors Burch Field Research Seminar in Domestic and International Affairs and was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, among other roles.