Michael Darr Barnes (born September 3, 1943) is an American lawyer and politician who represented the eighth district of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

in 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 ...

from 1979 to 1987.

Early life

Born in Washington, D.C. to John P. Barnes former general counsel to C&P Telephone Company, and Vernon S. Barnes. His grandfather John P. Barnes was a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Barnes moved to Chevy Chase in Montgomery County, Maryland at age 13.

Personal life

Barnes married Claudia Dillon Fangboner in 1970. He has two daughters, Dillon and Garrie.

Career

Michael D Barnes US Congress Photo Portrait

After serving in the

Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...

(1967 to 1969), being discharged with the rank of corporal, Barnes attended

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

and obtained 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 in 1972. Barnes served on the

Maryland Public Service Commission The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) is an independent administrative agency within the state government which regulates public utilities and certain taxi cab and other passenger services in Maryland. Similar to other state public utilitie ...

. Barnes served as executive director of the 1976 Democratic party platform committee. Barnes served in both private and government practice until his election to the House of Representatives 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 ...

in 1978.

Tenure in Congress

During the first session of the 99th Congress, he was the chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the

House Foreign Affairs Committee The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with jurisdiction over bills and investigations concerning the foreign affairs ...

. As a member of Congress, Barnes was generally an outspoken critic of

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 ...

's Central America policy, although he did in 1983 call the

United States invasion of Grenada The United States and a coalition of Caribbean countries invaded the small island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela, at dawn on 25 October 1983. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, it resulted in military occupation with ...

"justified," after a personal trip to the island. In 1986, Barnes lost the Democratic nomination for

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

from Maryland to

Barbara Mikulski Barbara Ann Mikulski ( ; born July 20, 1936) is an American politician and social worker who served as a United States senator from Maryland from 1987 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she also served i ...

and retired to private legal practice.

Later career

Following his congressional service, Barnes was President of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Chair of the

Center for National Policy image:CNP logo and url.jpg, The Center for National Policy The Center for National Policy (CNP) is an American non-profit public policy think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., Washington, D.C. History The Center for National Policy was f ...

, Chair of the Governor's Commission on Growth in the Chesapeake Bay Region and a member of the Boards of Directors of the

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) is an independent airport authority, created by the Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia, with the consent of the United States Congress, to oversee management, operations, an ...

, University of Maryland Foundation,

Center for International Policy The Center for International Policy (CIP) is a non-profit foreign policy research and advocacy think tank with offices in Washington, D.C., and New York City. It was founded in 1975 in response to the Vietnam War. The Center describes its missio ...

, Public Voice, and the Overseas Development Council. Prior to his service in Congress, Barnes was a Commissioner of the Maryland Public Service Commission and Vice Chairman of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission. From 2000 through 2006, he served as president of the

Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence Brady: United Against Gun Violence (formerly “Handgun Control, Inc”., the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for gun control and against ...

. Barnes was Senior

Of Counsel Of counsel is the title of an attorney in the legal profession of the United States who often has a relationship with a law firm or an organization but is neither an associate nor partner. Some firms use titles such as "counsel", "special couns ...

in the Washington, D.C., law firm of

Covington & Burling Covington & Burling LLP is an American multinational law firm. Known as a white-shoe law firm, it is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and advises clients on transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters. The firm has addition ...

. He retired as senior counsel at Covington & Burling LLP in December 2010. Barnes joined the Board of Directors of the

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional public transit agency that operates transit services in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA provides rapid transit servic ...

in April 2011 as Principal Director representing Montgomery County and the State of Maryland. He is a senior fellow at the

in Washington, DC. Barnes is also a member of the

Inter-American Dialogue The Inter-American Dialogue (Spanish and Portuguese: ''Diálogo Interamericano''), also known as the Dialogue or IAD, is a U.S.-based think tank in the field of international affairs primarily related to the Western Hemisphere. Headquartered in ...

and the ReFormers Caucus of

Issue One Issue One is an American nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce the role of money in politics. It aims to increase public awareness of what it views as problems within the present campaign finance system, and to reduce the influence of money ...

. He was appointed to be a member of the

Office of Congressional Ethics The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), established by the U.S. House of Representatives in March 2008, is a nonpartisan, independent entity charged with reviewing allegations of misconduct against members of the House of Representatives and thei ...

, a nonpartisan, independent committee charged with overseeing outside ethics complaints against members of Congress.

Education

Barnes attended the

Landon School Landon School is a private, college preparatory school for boys in grades 3–12, with an enrollment of approximately 710 students, in Bethesda, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. Background Paul Landon Banfield and his wife, Mary Lee, ...

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

. He graduated from Principia High School in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

in 1962. He earned his B.A. from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

in 1965, where he was a member of the

Delta Upsilon Delta Upsilon (), commonly known as DU, is a collegiate men's fraternity founded on November 4, 1834, at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is the sixth-oldest, all-male, college Greek-letter organization founded in North America ...

fraternity. He attended the

Graduate Institute of International Studies Graduate may refer to: Education * The subject of a graduation, i.e. someone awarded an academic degree ** Alumni, a former student who has either attended or graduated from an institution * High school graduate, someone who has completed hi ...

Geneva, Switzerland Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the Republic and Ca ...

from 1965 to 1966. He attained his J.D. from

in 1972.

U.S. House election history

References

External links

Retrieved on 2008-02-25
Michael Barnes article at stennis.gov
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Michael D. 1943 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers George Washington University Law School alumni Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies alumni Military personnel from Bethesda, Maryland Politicians from Bethesda, Maryland People from Kensington, Maryland Politicians from Washington, D.C. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni United States Marine Corps non-commissioned officers Military personnel from Washington, D.C. American gun control activists Maryland lawyers 2008 United States presidential electors Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland Members of the Inter-American Dialogue Members of Congress who became lobbyists 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives Delta Upsilon members