Bill Sarpalius

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Bill Sarpalius
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 13th district
In office
January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1995
Preceded byBeau Boulter
Succeeded byMac Thornberry
Member of the Texas Senate
from the 31st district
In office
January 13, 1981 – January 3, 1989
Preceded byBob Price
Succeeded byTeel Bivins
Personal details
Born
William Clarence Sarpalius

(1948-01-10) January 10, 1948 (age 76)
lobbyist

William Clarence Sarpalius (

Texas Panhandle eastward to Wichita Falls
.

Biography

Born in

Future Farmers of America
.

He first attended

West Texas State University in Canyon, Texas
. He then launched a career in agribusiness.

Congress

In 1980, Sarpalius successfully ran for a seat in the

Texas State Senate, a body in which he served until 1989. He was elected in 1988 to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he was a member of the Agricultural Committee. Sarpalius was one of a number of congressman involved in drafting the guidelines of the North American Free Trade Agreement. As a Lithuanian American, Sarpalius called for American aid to Lithuania, which was occupied by the Soviet Union and then reclaimed its independence at the end of the Cold War. In 1998, he was awarded the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas, "the highest award and recognition that Lithuania could give to a noncitizen by the President of Lithuania."[citation needed
]

"The president said some very nice things about my efforts in helping the Lithuanian people in their fight for freedom. He told the crowd about President Landsbergis's visit to my office that night in 1989 and the vision that he had shared with me. He acknowledged the members of Congress who had worked tirelessly to help the tiny Baltic states gain their freedom from the Soviet Union."[2]

Sarpalius won a second term in the House in 1990, when he defeated

U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen
.

In 1994, however, Sarpalius was one of a large number of House Democrats unseated in the "

Reagan administration official Mac Thornberry
, taking only 45 percent of the vote to Thornberry's 55 percent. Thornberry would go on to hold the seat for almost a quarter-century.

Later career

After leaving Congress, Sarpalius was appointed by U.S. President

U.S. Department of Agriculture. He is currently the chief executive officer of Advantage Associates, a powerful Washington consulting firm made up of former elected officials. After the success of his book The Grand Duke from Boys Ranch, he became a sought after motivational public speaker.[citation needed
]

Personal

Sarpalius is

Lions International
. He has a son, David William Sarpalius, from a former marriage.

References

  1. ^ "Bill Sarpalius", Who's Who in America, Vol. 2, 48th ed. (Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1994), p. 3019
  2. OCLC 1013477255.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )

External links
Texas Senate
Preceded by Texas State Senator
from District 31
1981–1989 		Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 13th congressional district
1989–1995 		Succeeded by
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Former US Representative Order of precedence of the United States
as Former US Representative 		Succeeded byas Former US Representative
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