John William Warner, Jr.
United States Senator, Virginia
Chairman Armed Services Committee

Senator Warner was born on February 18, 1927. He is the grandson of John W. and Mary Tinsley Warner of Amherst County, Virginia, and the son of Martha Budd Warner and Dr. John W. Warner, a physician and surgeon.

The Senator’s first public service opportunity began during World War II when, in January 1945, at age 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served on active duty until the summer of 1946 when he was honorably discharged as Petty Officer 3rd Class, electronic technician's mate. Following the war, he attended Washington and Lee University on the G.I. Bill, and was awarded a B.S. degree in 1949. He then entered the University of Virginia Law School.

At the outbreak of the Korean War in the summer of 1950, Warner interrupted his law studies and commenced a second tour of active military duty, beginning in October 1950, this time as an officer in the United States Marine Corps. A year later, in October 1951, as a first lieutenant in communications, he volunteered for duty in Korea and served as a ground officer with the First Marine Air Wing. Following his active service in Korea, he remained in the Marine Corps Reserve for 10 years and was promoted to the rank of Captain.

Upon his return from the Korean Peninsula, Senator Warner finished his law degree at the University of Virginia, and, in 1953, he was selected by the late Chief Judge E. Barrett Prettyman of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as his law clerk. In 1956, he was appointed an Assistant U.S. Attorney, and served four years in the trial and appellate divisions. He entered private law practice in 1960 with the long-established firm of Hogan & Hartson.

Senator Warner's next public service began as the U.S. Senate confirmed his Presidential appointment to be Under Secretary of Navy in February 1969. For over five years during the war in Vietnam, he served in the Department of the Navy, and led the Department as Secretary from 1972-1974.

During his five years in the Navy Secretariat, Senator Warner was engaged in two key diplomatic assignments: representative for the Secretary of Defense to the Law of the Sea Talks in Geneva (1969-73), and subsequently, as principal negotiator and signatory for the United States of the "Incidents at Sea Executive Agreement" between the United States and the former Soviet Union (1970-72). This Executive Agreement remains in effect today and has been used as a model for similar agreements between other nations covering the operational directives for naval ships and aircraft in international sea lanes throughout the world.

Following his work in the Navy Department, Senator Warner was appointed by the President to coordinate the celebration of the Bicentennial of the founding of the United States of America, directing the federal role at events in all fifty states and in 22 foreign countries.

Senator Warner has won five consecutive elections to the U.S. Senate, beginning in 1978. This year, Senator Warner became the second-longest serving U.S. Senator from Virginia in the 218-year history of the Senate. Now in his 27th year in the Senate, he is privileged to chair the Senate Armed Services Committee, having begun his association with our men and women in uniform sixty years ago.

During his time in the Senate, he has served on a wide range of committees, reflecting the diverse needs of the Commonwealth. In addition to chairing the Senate Armed Services Committee, he is the senior Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee. In January 2005, Senator Warner joined the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and was reappointed to the Select Committee on Intelligence.