James L. Buckley  James Lane Buckley (born March 9, 1923) is an American jurist, politician, civil servant, attorney, businessman, and author. In 1970, Buckley was elected to the U.S. Senate as the nominee of the Conservative Party of New York; he won 39 percent of the vote and served from 1971 until 1977. During the first Reagan administration, Buckley served as Undersecretary of State for International Security Affairs. He was also President of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty from 1982 to 1985. Buckley was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on October 16, 1985. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 17, 1985 and received commission on December 17, 1985. Buckley assumed senior status on August 31, 1996. He is now in inactive status as a judge. Buckley was born in New York City. He is the son of Aloise Josephine Antonia (née Steiner) and lawyer and businessman William Frank Buckley, Sr. He is the older brother of the late conservative writer William F. Buckley, Jr. and the uncle of Christopher Taylor Buckley. He is also the uncle of Brent Bozell III and political consultant William F. B. O'Reilly. His mother, from New Orleans, was of Swiss-German, German, and Irish descent, while his paternal grandparents, from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, were of Irish ancestry. Buckley attended Millbrook School, graduating in 1941. Graduating from Yale University in 1943 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, where he was a member of Skull and Bones, Buckley enlisted in the United States Navy in 1942 and was discharged with the rank of lieutenant in 1946. After receiving his Bachelor of Laws from Yale Law School in 1949, he was admitted to the Connecticut bar in 1950 and practiced law until 1953, when he joined Catawba as vice president and director. Buckley was married to Ann Cooley Buckley (died December 30, 2011), a former CIA desk officer, for 58 years; they had a daughter and five sons. In 1968, Buckley challenged liberal Republican U.S. Senator Jacob K. Javits for re-election. Buckley ran on the Conservative Party line. Javits won easily, but Buckley received a large number of votes from disaffected conservative Republicans. "The New York Times" called Buckley's 1968 senatorial campaign "lonely and unsuccessful." In 1970, Buckley ran for U.S. Senate on the Conservative Party line once again.