Jay Rockefeller

Jay Rockefeller
United States Senator from West Virginia
In office January 15, 1985 – January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Jennings Randolph
Succeeded by	Shelley Moore Capito
Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee
In office January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Daniel Inouye
Succeeded by	John Thune
Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee
In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2009
Preceded by	Pat Roberts
Succeeded by	Dianne Feinstein
Chair of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee
In office June 6, 2001 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Arlen Specter
Succeeded by	Arlen Specter
In office January 3, 2001 – January 20, 2001
Preceded by	Arlen Specter
Succeeded by	Arlen Specter
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by	Alan Cranston
Succeeded by	Alan Simpson
29th Governor of West Virginia
In office January 17, 1977 – January 14, 1985
Preceded by	Arch A. Moore Jr.
Succeeded by	Arch A. Moore Jr.
22nd Secretary of State of West Virginia
In office January 13, 1969 – January 15, 1973
Governor	Arch A. Moore Jr.
Preceded by	Robert D. Bailey Jr.
Succeeded by	Hike Heiskell
Member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from Kanawha County
In office December 1, 1966 – December 1, 1968
Preceded by	12 members Jesse S. Barker J.F. Bedell Thomas L. Black Pat Board Kelly L. Castleberry Kenneth L. Coghill Charles C. Dunaway James E. Kessinger Thomas A. Knight James W. Loop Jack L. Pauley Fred Scott
Succeeded by	4 members J. Dempsey Gibson Phillis J. Rutledge Sam C. Savilla Harlan Wilson
Personal details
Born	John Rockefeller[1] (1937-06-18) June 18, 1937 (age 86) New York City, New York, U.S.
Political party	Democratic (1966–present)
Other political affiliations	Republican (before 1966)
Spouse	Sharon Percy ​ (m. 1967)​
Children	John V. Valerie Charles Justin
Parent(s)	John Davison Rockefeller III Blanchette Ferry Hooker
Relatives	See Rockefeller family
Education	Harvard University (AB) International Christian University Yale University
Signature
Jay Rockefeller's voice Jay Rockefeller speaks at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on reauthorizing the Patriot Act Recorded April 27, 2005

John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV (born June 18, 1937) is a retired American politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia (1985–2015). He was first elected to the Senate in 1984, while in office as governor of West Virginia (1977–1985). Rockefeller moved to Emmons, West Virginia, to serve as a VISTA worker in 1964 and was first elected to public office as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates (1966-1968). Rockefeller was later elected secretary of state of West Virginia (1968–1973) and was president of West Virginia Wesleyan College (1973–1975). He became the state's senior U.S. senator when the long-serving Senator Robert Byrd died in June 2010.

Rockefeller is a great-grandson of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, who died less than a month before Jay's birth. He was the only serving politician of the Rockefeller family during his tenure in the United States Senate, and the only one to have held office as a Democrat, in what has been a traditionally Republican family (though he too was originally a Republican until he decided to run for office in the then-heavily Democratic state).^[2] Rockefeller did not seek reelection in 2014 and was succeeded by Republican U.S. Representative Shelley Moore Capito.^[3]