Frank Joseph Guarini Jr. (born August 20, 1924) is an American politician from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure ...

from 1966 to 1972 and as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

for seven terms from 1979 to 1993. As of 2025, he is the oldest living former U.S. representative since the death of

Al Quie Albert Harold "Al" Quie ( ; September 18, 1923 – August 18, 2023) was an American politician and farmer. Quie served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1958 to 1979 and as Governor of Minnesota from 1979 to 1983. Re ...

Early life and education

Guarini was born August 20, 1924, to Frank Joseph Guarini Sr. and the former Caroline Critelli. He is of Italian descent. He graduated from Lincoln High School in 1942. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

aboard from 1944 to 1946. Guarini received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

, in 1947 and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree from

New York University School of Law The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...

in 1950 as well as a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

degree in 1955. He pursued graduate work at

The Hague Academy of International Law The Hague Academy of International Law () is a center for high-level education in both public and private international law housed in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Courses are taught in English and French and, except for External ...

and was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1951. He commenced practice in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

Political career

Guarini served in the

from 1965 to 1972. In 1970, Guarini unsuccessfully challenged incumbent

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

member

Harrison A. Williams Harrison Arlington "Pete" Williams Jr. (December 10, 1919November 17, 2001) was an American politician and lawyer. He was a Democrat who represented New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives (1953–1957) and the United States Se ...

in the Democratic Primary, losing 66%–34%.

Congress

Guarini was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

for New Jersey's 14th Congressional District to the

96th United States Congress The 96th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 1979 ...

and was reelected six times. He retired from Congress in 1993. His district number was eliminated following the

1990 United States Census The 1990 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 248,709,873, an increase of 9.8 percent over the 226,545,805 persons enumerated during the 1980 census. Approximatel ...

, but in sense was succeeded by

Bob Menendez Robert Menendez (; born January 1, 1954) is an American former politician and lawyer who represented New Jersey in the United States Senate from 2006 until his resignation in 2024. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...

in the renumbered 13th district.

Legacy

The Jersey City post office building on the corner of Montgomery and Washington has been dedicated to Guarini.

John Cabot University John Cabot University (JCU) is a private American university in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1972 and it offers undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees, and study abroad programs to English-speaking students. The university has more than 700 ...

in Rome, Italy, designated its campus as the Frank J. Guarini campus, and the library at

New Jersey City University New Jersey City University (NJCU) is a public university in Jersey City, New Jersey. Originally chartered in 1927, NJCU consists of the School of Business, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education, and College of Professional Studies a ...

is also named in his honor. Guarini received the ''America Award'' of the

Italy–USA Foundation Italy–USA Foundation (Italian: ''Fondazione Italia USA'') is a non-profit non-partisan organization based in Rome, Italy, established to promote friendship between Italians and Americans plus American culture in Italy. Organization The foundat ...

in 2014. Dartmouth has created the Frank J. Guarini Institute for International Education in recognition of his longtime support of the college. In 2018, Dartmouth further recognized him by announcing the naming of the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies in his honor. Guarini's alma mater

named two of its centers/institutes after him. The Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy and Land Use Law focuses on land and environmental policy. The Guarini Institute for Global Legal Studies focuses on transnational law. Upon the death of

in August 2023, he became the oldest living former U.S. Representative. On August 20, 2024, he

turned 100 A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

References

External links

Official website of Frank J. Guarini
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Guarini, Frank Joseph 1924 births American people of Italian descent Living people Dartmouth College alumni The Hague Academy of International Law people Lincoln High School (New Jersey) alumni Democratic Party New Jersey state senators Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey Politicians from Jersey City, New Jersey Military personnel from Jersey City, New Jersey United States Navy officers New York University School of Law alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century American lawyers American men centenarians 20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives