John Danforth

An heir to the Ralston Purina[?] fortune, John Danforth was born in 1936. He served as Missouri's Attorney General from 1969 to 1976, before beginning a three term tenure in the Senate. Danforth retired from the Senate in 1995.

During the Clarence Thomas hearings of 1991, Danforth used his considerable clout to aid the confirmation of Thomas, a former Danforth aide and protege.

In 1999, US Attorney General Janet Reno appointed Danforth to lead the investigation into the FBI's roll in the Waco, Texas/Branch Davidian disaster of 1993. In September of 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Danforth a special envoy to the Sudan.

A political moderate who is respected by members of both parties, Danforth was once quoted as saying he joined the Republican party for "the same reason you sometimes choose which movie to see- the one with the shortest line".

Danforth is an Episcopal minister, and is married with five adult children.