Pat Williams
Congressman Pat Williams’ career has been dedicated to
strengthening America’s education system, making
schools safer for our children, fighting for the
underprivileged and protecting his home state of
Montana’s special places for future generations. Starting
as a teacher in Butte, as a state legislator, then as
Montana’s Congressman and as a faculty member at the
University of Montana, Pat has remained devoted to
serving the people of Montana and making it a better
place for future generations.
Pat was elected to the Montana House of
Representatives from Silver Bow County in 1966,
winning re-election in 1968. After two terms in the
Montana Legislature, from 1969–1971, he served as executive assistant to Montana Congressman John
Melcher. He also served as a member of the Governor’s Employment and Training Council from 1972 to
1978, and as a member of the first Montana Reapportionment Commission, from 1972 to 1973. Pat was
elected to represent Montana in Congress for nine terms, from 1979 to 1997 – more consecutive terms
in the U.S. House than anyone in Montana’s history.
A third generation Montanan, Pat is an educator by profession. Upon retiring from Congress, he
returned home to Montana where he continued his career as a faculty member at the University of
Montana in Missoula, teaching courses in environmental studies, history, and political science.
While at the University of Montana, Pat was Senior Fellow and Regional Policy associate at the Center
for the Rocky Mountain West and he served on numerous national governing Boards. He served as a
Trustee or Director for the National Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, the
National Association of Job Corps and The President’s Advisory Commission for Tribal Colleges.
Pat was on the Board of Directors of the Student Loan Marketing Association, the now disbanded GSE
subsidiary of U.S.A. Education (Sallie Mae), and led the development of Western Progress, a policy think
tank which has offices in multiple states throughout the West. Pat was responsible for the legislative
creation of the Rural Disabilities National Research Lab and the Leopold Wilderness Research Institute,
both at the University of Montana. He also led the legislative effort to create The Agriculture Plant
Research Center at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana.
Appointed by former Governor Brian Schweitzer, Pat served as a member of the Board of Regents of the
Montana University System in 2012 and 2013. He has honorary degrees from Carroll College in Helena,
Montana and Rocky Mountain College in Billings, MT.
He lives in Missoula with his wife, former Montana Senate Majority Leader Carol Williams.