20 Facts About Jim Sasser

James Ralph Sasser was an American politician, diplomat, and attorney from Tennessee.

James Ralph Jim Sasser was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on September 30,1936.

Jim Sasser attended public schools in Nashville, Tennessee, graduating from Hillsboro High School in 1954.

Jim Sasser attended the University of Tennessee from 1954 to 1955, where he joined the Lambda chapter of Kappa Sigma fraternity.

Jim Sasser earned his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University in 1958, followed by his law degree from the Vanderbilt University Law School in 1961.

Jim Sasser was admitted to the Tennessee Bar in 1961 and began practicing law in Nashville.

Jim Sasser was a long time Democratic activist and the manager of Albert Gore Sr.

Jim Sasser defeated, among others, Nashville, Tennessee entrepreneur and attorney John Jay Hooker, then still considered to be a serious candidate due to his strong personality, his wealth, and his connections with The Tennessean controlling Seigenthaler family.

Jim Sasser's son Gray Sasser, a lawyer, is a past chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party.

Jim Sasser emphasized Brock's connections to former President Richard Nixon and his use of income tax code provisions that had, despite his great wealth and considerable income, resulted in his paying less than $2,000 in income tax the previous year.

Jim Sasser was able to capitalize on the tax issue by pointing out that Brock had paid less than many Tennesseans of considerably more modest means.

Jim Sasser's campaign was greatly aided by the efforts of ex-Senator Gore.

Jim Sasser won handily over Brock, and went on to serve three terms in the Senate.

Jim Sasser turned back a serious effort against him by five-term United States House of Representatives member Robin Beard very handily in 1982.

Jim Sasser went on to serve as ambassador to China during the period of alleged nuclear spying and the campaign finance controversy that involved possible efforts by China to influence domestic US politics during the Clinton Administration.

Jim Sasser again gained media attention when the US Embassy in Beijing was besieged after US warplanes mistakenly bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the US intervention in the Kosovo War.

Shortly after the siege of the embassy was lifted, Ambassador Jim Sasser retired and returned to the United States.

Jim Sasser later became a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Jim Sasser married Mary Gorman in 1962, and they had two children.

Jim Sasser died from a heart attack at his home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on September 10,2024, at the age of 87,20 days before his 88th birthday.