The Honorable Thomas Peter Lantos U.S. House of Representatives (CA-12) San Mateo, California

Thomas Peter Lantos has served as a Member of the U.S. Congress since January 3, 1981 and is the only holocaust survivor ever to serve in Congress. He was born in Budapest, Hungary on February 1, 1928. In 1944, when he was 16 years old, Nazi Germany occupied his home country. Following the end of World War II, Lantos was awarded an academic scholarship to study in the United States.

He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Economics from the University of Washington and later earned his doctorate in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley. For three decades prior to his service in Congress, Lantos was a professor of economics, an international affairs analyst for public television, and a business consultant. He is a leading advocate for Human Rights around the world and in 1983 founded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. He and his wife Annette have two children and 17 grandchildren.

"My life today, given my background, is something I cannot believe possible. I am privileged to serve the Congress of the United States. I think back to my life fifty years ago, when I was a hunted animal in the jungle, and how I am dealing with issues of state of a country I love so deeply. It all seems like a dream and it all places an incredible sense of responsibility on me. I didn't achieve this because of what I am, it happened because of what this country is."

-Representative Tom Lantos