James Roosevelt

James Roosevelt III, born on November 9, 1945, is an American attorney and Democratic Party official. He is a grandson of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt. As of the year 2025, he serves as the co-chair of the Rules and Bylaws Committee of the Democratic National Committee, a role he has held since 1995.

Early Life and Family:

Roosevelt was born in the United States to James Roosevelt II (1907–1991) and Romelle Theresa Schneider (1915–2002). His full siblings include Michael, born on December 7, 1946, and Anna, born on January 10, 1948. Through his father, he has two elder half-sisters, Sara (1932–2021) and Kate (1936–2002), and two younger half-siblings, Hall, born in 1959, and Rebecca, born in 1971. His paternal grandparents were Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Education:

Roosevelt completed his secondary education at La Salle High School in Pasadena, graduating in 1963. He obtained an A.B. degree with honors in government from Harvard College in 1968. He earned his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1971 and later attended the six-week Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Military Service:

Following his graduation from Harvard in June 1968, Roosevelt was commissioned into the Naval Reserve. He attained the rank of lieutenant on July 1, 1971.

Legal and Professional Career:

After law school, Roosevelt spent a decade as a partner at the Boston law firm Choate, Hall & Stewart. Subsequently, he served as associate commissioner for Retirement Policy at the Social Security Administration. In 1999, he joined Tufts Health Plan as senior vice president and general counsel, a position he held until June 2005, when he became president and chief executive officer of the organization.

Political Activity:

Roosevelt ran unsuccessfully for Congress in Massachusetts's 8th congressional district in 1986, losing the Democratic primary to Joseph P. Kennedy II. He has also served as chief legal counsel for the Massachusetts Democratic Party.

Board Memberships and Leadership:

He has held numerous leadership roles within healthcare organizations, including past chairman of the board of trustees for the Massachusetts Hospital Association and past president of the American Health Lawyers Association. Roosevelt also served as chairman of the board of trustees for Mount Auburn Hospital. Currently, he is chairman of the board for the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans and serves on boards including America's Health Insurance Plans, Catholic Democrats, Emmanuel College, and the Kenneth B. Schwartz Center.

In 2008, Roosevelt was called upon to oversee hearings concerning the seating of delegates from Florida and Michigan at the Democratic National Convention. Reports described him as "detail-oriented" with substantial "institutional knowledge." Prior to the committee hearings, he had not publicly endorsed either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.

Personal Life:

Roosevelt married Ann Martha Conlon on June 15, 1968. The couple has three daughters:

- Kathleen Ann Roosevelt, born in 1978, a graduate of Barnard College who married Jeffrey Walker in 2007.

- Theresa Marie "Tracy" Roosevelt, born in 1982, a graduate of Brown University who married Robert O'Loughlin in 2016.

- Maura Amy Roosevelt, born in 1984, a graduate of Harvard University who married Joshua Fisher in 2014.

References:

External links:

- Appearances on C-SPAN