About the Author

STEPHEN J. SOLARZ (1940-2010) served for 24 years in public office both in the New York State Assembly and in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected from Brooklyn's 13th Congressional District to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1974 and reelected eight times. He served for 18 years on the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, serving as chairman of the Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs, and the Subcommittee on Africa. As a congressman, he traveled widely and met with dozens of world leaders, and became a leading spokesman on behalf of democracy and human rights. Mr. Solarz is a graduate of Brandeis University, class of 1962.