Frank Church

For his son, Frank Forrester Church IV, the Unitarian Universalist minister and theologian, see Forrest Church. For the author of the Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus editorial, see Francis Pharcellus Church.

Frank Church
Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1981
Preceded by	John Sparkman
Succeeded by	Charles H. Percy
Chair of the Senate Aging Committee
In office January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1979
Preceded by	Harrison A. Williams
Succeeded by	Lawton Chiles
United States Senator from Idaho
In office January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1981
Preceded by	Herman Welker
Succeeded by	Steve Symms
Personal details
Born	Frank Forrester Church III (1924-07-25)July 25, 1924 Boise, Idaho, U.S.
Died	April 7, 1984(1984-04-07) (aged 59) Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Bethine Clark (1947–1984)
Children	2 (including Frank)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1943–1946
Rank	Second Lieutenant
Unit	Military intelligence
Battles/wars	World War II  • China Burma India Theater

Frank Forrester Church III (July 25, 1924 – April 7, 1984) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senator from Idaho from 1957 to 1981. He is known for heading the Church Committee, which investigated abuses in the United States Intelligence Community.

Born and raised in Boise, Idaho, Church served as a military intelligence officer in the China Burma India Theater during World War II. He established a legal practice in Boise after graduating from Stanford Law School. He defeated incumbent Republican Senator Herman Welker in Idaho's 1956 Senate election, becoming one of the youngest individuals ever to serve in the Senate. In the Senate, Church became a protégé of Lyndon B. Johnson and established a reputation as a member of the party's liberal wing. He sponsored the Wilderness Act and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

Church emerged as an important figure in American foreign policy and chaired the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations from 1979 to 1981. He was one of the first Senators to publicly oppose the Vietnam War, and co-sponsored legislation to curtail the war. In 1975, Church led the Church Committee, which inspired the passage of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the creation of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He also led the effort to ratify the Torrijos–Carter Treaties, which returned the Panama Canal Zone to Panama.

Church sought the Democratic nomination in the 1976 presidential election, but withdrew from the race in favor of Jimmy Carter. Church won re-election to the Senate in 1962, 1968, and 1974, but narrowly lost his bid for a fifth term to Steve Symms. After leaving the Senate, Church practiced international law until his death in 1984.

Further reading

• Ashby, LeRoy. "Frank Church Goes to the Senate: The Idaho Election of 1956." Pacific Northwest Quarterly 78 (January–April 1987): 17-31.
• Ashby, LeRoy, and Rod Gramer. Fighting the Odds: The Life of Senator Frank Church. Pullman: Washington State University Press, 1994.
• Church, F. Forrester. Father and Son: A Personal Biography of Senator Frank Church of Idaho by His Son'
• Dant, Sara. "Making Wilderness Work: Frank Church and the American Wilderness Movement." Pacific Historical Review 77 (May 2008): 237-272.
• Ewert, Sara E. Dant. "The Conversion of Senator Frank Church: Evolution of an Environmentalist." Ph.D. dissertation, Washington State University, 2000.
• Ewert, Sara E. Dant. "Evolution of an Environmentalist: Senator Frank Church and the Hells Canyon Controversy." Montana: The Magazine of Western History 51 (Spring 2001): 36-51.
• Ewert, Sara E. Dant. "Peak Park Politics: The Struggle over the Sawtooths, from Borah to Church." Pacific Northwest Quarterly (Summer 2000): 138-149.
• Hall, Bill. Frank Church, D.C., and Me. Pullman, Washington: Washington State University Press, 1995. ISBN 978-0-87422-119-0

External links

• Frank Church at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Encyclopedia of World Biography – Frank Forrester Church III
• Boise State University -The Frank Church Institute
  • BSU Library: Special Collections - The Frank Church Papers
  • BSU Library – tribute to Bethine Church
• Frank Church—River of No Return Wilderness (PDF) - user's guide
• Boise High School's Hall of Fame
• Morris Hill Cemetery - Boise, ID - Walking Tour
• Frank Church at Find a Grave
• Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt Institute – Frank and Bethine Church
• Frank Church for President – 1976 campaign brochure