Francis Luke McNamara Jr. (born November 4, 1947, in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

) is an American attorney who served as the

United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (in case citations, D. Mass.) is the United States district court, federal district court whose Jurisdiction (area), territorial jurisdiction is the Commonwealth (U.S. state), C ...

from 1987 to 1989.

Early life

After graduating from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1969, McNamara joined 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 ...

. He served as an intelligence officer during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. He graduated from the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 as part of his "academical village", and now ...

in 1976 and in 1977 was admitted to the Massachusetts bar.

Legal career

From 1977 to 1980, McNamara worked as an associate at Choate, Hall & Stewart. He then became an Assistant General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of the Boston Gas Company. In 1983, McNamara was a founding partner in the law firm of Vena, McNamara, Truelove & Lahey. In April 1987, McNamara was appointed by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

to serve as the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. In November 1988, the Justice Department released a report concluding that McNamara had falsely accused his predecessor,

William F. Weld William Floyd Weld (born July 31, 1945) is an American attorney, businessman, author, and politician who served as the 68th Governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1997. A Harvard graduate, Weld began his career as legal counsel to the United ...

, of smoking marijuana. An investigation was then opened to determine whether McNamara had deliberately lied. On January 27, 1989, 28 of his 39 assistant attorneys sent a letter to Attorney General

Dick Thornburgh Richard Lewis Thornburgh (July 16, 1932 – December 31, 2020) was an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 76th United States attorney general from 1988 to 1991 under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. A ...

seeking McNamara's "immediate resignation or removal." He resigned on January 31, 1989. He then returned to private practice and established the law firm of McNamara & Associates.

Political career

In 1982 he was a Republican candidate for Congress in

Massachusetts's 8th congressional district Massachusetts's 8th congressional district is located in eastern Massachusetts, including part of Boston. It is represented by Democrat Stephen Lynch. For one congressional term (1791–1793), it served as the home district of the District of Ma ...

. He defeated former State Republican Chairman William Barnstead in the primary 5,429 votes to 4,477. In the general election he lost to Democratic

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

Tip O'Neill Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill Jr. (December 9, 1912 – January 5, 1994) was an American Democratic Party politician from Massachusetts who served as the 47th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987, the third-l ...

123,296 votes to 41,370. In 1984, McNamara was named the first chairman of the Massachusetts chapter of

Citizens for America Citizens for America (CFA) was a United States conservatism in the United States, conservative Grassroots democracy, grass-roots organization founded by President Ronald Reagan's "Kitchen Cabinet" , including Jaquelin H. Hume, CEO of Basic American ...

. In 2011, McNamara was a candidate for Chairman of the

Massachusetts Republican Party The Massachusetts Republican Party (MassGOP) is the Massachusetts branch of the U.S. Republican Party. Originally, the party was formed in 1854. Soon after its founding, the party quickly became the dominant party in the state with Massachuse ...

. He lost to businessman Robert Maginn 51 votes to 21.

Financial services career

From 2003 to 2005, McNamara served as the President of Parkman Shaw & Company, Inc., a

Registered Investment Advisor A registered investment adviser (RIA) is a firm that is an investment adviser in the United States, registered as such with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or a state's securities agency. The numerous references to RIAs within the Inv ...

. In April 2006 he became a Managing Director at the wealth management firm of Highmount Capital LLC.

Personal life

McNamara and his wife Elizabeth are the parents of twelve children. He currently resides in

Bolton, Massachusetts Bolton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Bolton is in central Massachusetts, located 25 miles west-northwest of downtown Boston along Interstate 495. It is within Greater Boston and MetroWest regions. The population ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McNamara, Frank 1947 births Harvard College alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Massachusetts lawyers Massachusetts Republicans People from Bolton, Massachusetts United States attorneys for the District of Massachusetts Living people