Douglas Henry

Who is Douglas Henry?

Douglas Henry is a Tennessee politician and member of the Tennessee Senate representing the 21st district, which is composed of part of Davidson County. He has served as a state senator since the 87th General Assembly, prior to which he was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives during the 79th General Assembly. He is Vice-Chair of the Finance, Ways, and Means Committee and serves as a member on the Senate Ethics Committee, and the Fiscal Review Committee.

Douglas Henry graduated with a B.A. and LL.B from Vanderbilt University. He is a former chairman of the Southern Legislative Conference, an organization that states its mission is to "foster and encourage intergovernmental cooperation among its 16-member states." He was re-elected to office in 2006.

Henry was first elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1954. Henry was absent from politics during the 1960s when his children were small, working as a corporate attorney for National Life Insurance Company, of which his father was a founder. Returning to the political arena in 1970, Henry was elected 11 consecutive times to the Tennessee State Senate, most recently narrowly defeating challenger Jeff Yarbro in the 2010 primary. After his District was drastically altered by the Republican Legislative majority he announced he would not seek re-election in 2014, instead opting to retire.