Warner, John William (1927-2021), was a member of the United States Senate from 1979 to 2009. Warner, a Republican, represented Virginia.
Warner chaired the Senate Armed Services Committee from 1998 to 2001. He was a former chair of the Rules and Administration Committee. In 1985, Warner was appointed as Senate observer to arms-control talks between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Warner was born in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 18, 1927. He left high school in 1944, during World War II, to serve in the United States Navy. He was released from service in 1946. Warner received a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Washington and Lee University in 1949. From 1950 to 1952, during the Korean War, he served in the United States Marine Corps. In 1953, Warner earned a law degree from the University of Virginia.
In 1953 and 1954, Warner worked as a law clerk for the United States Court of Appeals. He was a lawyer in private practice from 1954 to 1956 and from 1960 to 1969. He was assistant U.S. attorney from 1956 to 1960. In 1969, Warner was appointed undersecretary of the Navy by President Richard M. Nixon. He was named secretary of the Navy in 1972 and served in that position until 1974.
In 1978, Warner won the closest Senate election in Virginia history by a margin of fewer than 5,000 votes. He took office in 1979. Warner’s second wife, actress Elizabeth Taylor, helped in his campaign. The couple later divorced. Warner was reelected to the Senate every six years from 1978. In 2007, Warner announced he would not seek reelection in 2008. He retired when his term ended in January 2009. Warner died on May 25, 2021.
