birth_place imagesize title party profession birth_date term_start image article_title name alma_mater
reno , nevada 200 federal election commission democrat lawyer 18 july 1943 june 2008 fec_steven_t_walther . jpg steven t. walther
 steven t. walther university of california , berkeley university of notre dame
steven t. walther

steven t. walther -lrb- born july 18 , 1943 -rrb- is a member of the united states federal election commission and its former chair .
he was first sworn in as a commissioner on january 10 , 2006 , as a recess appointee .
although his name was placed before the senate for confirmation in june , 2007 , his recess term expired on december 31 , 2007 , before the senate acted .
on june 24 , 2008 , he was confirmed unanimously by the senate and sworn in on june 27 as a commissioner , to resume the balance of his statutory term .
prior to joining the fec as a commissioner , mr. walther practiced law in the reno , nevada law firm of walther , key , maupin , oats , cox & legoy , now known as maupin , cox & legoy which he co-founded in 1972 .
during his legal career mr. walther has been active in professional legal and judicial organizations and activities , as well as numerous civic activities .
he is a former member of the board of governors of the american bar association and currently serves as co-chair of the aba center for human rights .
he has been active in aba initiatives focusing on international relations , human rights and the rule of law .
he was appointed by the aba president to serve as the aba representative to the united nations .
he served on the executive board of the aba central european and eurasian law initiative -lrb- ceeli -rrb- , which oversees the aba 's democracy building programs in over 21 countries -- programs which promote development of fair and open election laws .
he has been a member of the board of trustees and lecturer for the national judicial college , both in the united states and in russia .
mr. walther has lectured extensively , both domestically and internationally -lrb- principally in russia -rrb- , on rule of law , human rights , litigation and international law issues .
he is a member of the american law institute and the international bar association .
mr. walther is a former president of the state bar of nevada , the western states bar conference , and the national caucus of state bar associations .
he is a past chair of the 6,000 member fellows of the american bar foundation , the legal research arm of the aba .
from 1971 until his fec appointment , mr. walther served as a member of the nevada state advisory committee to the united states commission on civil rights .
he received his j.d. degree from boalt hall school of law at the university of california , berkeley in 1968 , and recently served as president of the boalt hall alumni association .
he received his undergraduate degree , with a major in russian , from the university of notre dame , notre dame , indiana , in 1965 .
