Who is Senator Leahy?

Senator Patrick J. Leahy is the longest-serving U.S. Senator in Vermont history and the third longest-serving U.S. Senator in American history, casting nearly 16,950 votes in his Senate career. Sen. Leahy represented Vermont over eight terms in the Senate and retired in January 2023 after 48 years of service. He served as President Pro Tempore of the Senate twice, from 2012-2015 and from 2021-2023. He chaired three major committees—Appropriations, Judiciary, and Agriculture—during a tenure that began in 1975. Prior to becoming a Senator, he served multiple terms as State’s Attorney, beginning in 1966. 

Sen. Leahy’s legacy in the Senate is defined largely by his support for agriculture, environmental protection, technology, and healthcare – much of which benefited Vermont directly. His introduction of small-state minimums in budget bills effectively appropriated billions of dollars of additional funding to his home state. 

Sen. Leahy has long been regarded as the Senate’s foremost leader on human rights issues in U.S. foreign policy. Some of his crowning achievements include The Leahy Law, which bars U.S. foreign aid support to units of foreign militaries that violate the rights of their citizens. He was the lead author of legislation banning the export of anti-personnel landmines which was the impetus for an international treaty to ban them. He established the Leahy War Victims Fund which is used by USAID throughout the world to help civilians maimed by landmines and other weapons of war. 

Sen. Leahy was a longtime advocate for improving relations with Cuba and Vietnam, working with Democratic and Republican administrations to change the Cold War policies towards Cuba as well as restore diplomatic relations and support post-war legacy programs in Vietnam. 

As a chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, he brought many ‘born-in-Vermont’ ideas into nationwide policy and programs. Leahy has long been recognized as the ‘father’ of the national organic standards and labeling program, and he was a leader in the work to create and fund the Farm to School program. During his time in the Senate, he secured annual funding for Lake Champlain, supported the Vermont dairy industry and added more than 140 acres to the Green Mountain National Forest. 

Sen. Leahy was born and raised in Montpelier, Vermont where his parents operated a printing press business. A 1961 graduate of St. Michael’s College in Colchester, and of the Georgetown University Law Center (1964), he has been married to Marcelle Pomerleau Leahy, a native of Newport, Vermont, and a Registered Surgical Nurse, for nearly 60 years. Together, they raised three children in both Vermont and Washington, and have throughout maintained the Leahy family home, a tree farm in Middlesex, Vermont. An avid and accomplished photographer, Leahy also has appeared in major motion pictures featuring his favorite superhero, Batman. 

Sen. Leahy currently holds an appointment as President’s Distinguished Fellow at the University of Vermont. 

Celebrating Senator Leahy

As one of his final acts as a Senator, Leahy secured $30 million in Congressionally Directed Spending to support academic excellence at UVM, specifically for the Honors College to use to enhance the experience for the most promising and ambitious students at the University. This funding will allow for the creation of the Leahy Faculty Fellows, a program to support research and teaching mentorship, as well as research awards in social justice, civil rights, sustainability, gender equity, and Vermont economic development, all causes which Senator Leahy championed during his time in the Senate. 

“All of us are deeply grateful for Senator and Marcelle Leahy’s continuing support of the Patrick Leahy Honors College. We are proud to be the steward of Leahy’s living legacy of public service, humanitarianism, and civic engagement, and we are honored by the trust they have put in UVM to educate the next generation of scholars, leaders, and innovators.” Dean David Jenemann

Additionally, this will allow for financial support for Honors College seniors as they develop their research in anticipation of attending graduate school and will allow the college to increase support for tuition, research, and internships for UVM’s highest caliber students. This endowment was just one way that Senator Leahy showed his support for the University of Vermont during his 48 years in the Senate. You can read more about this in the articles linked at the bottom of this page.  

“The students, faculty, and staff of UVM's Honors College set the highest standards for commitment to critical thinking, research, service, and leadership ... Marcelle and I feel that the college embodies excellence at the University of Vermont, one of the finest research universities in the country. We are delighted to have my name attached to the Honors College and linked to the achievements and success of all who pass through the college now and in the years to come.” Senator Leahy

Here in the Honors College we pride ourselves on providing students with the benefits of a liberal arts college with all the resources of a public research university, creating a four-year experience which empowers our students to become leaders in solving real-world problems. We celebrate Senator Leahy’s many years of exemplary leadership championing Vermont and his commitment to some of the world’s biggest issues.