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Richard Craig "Dick" Shelby (born May 6, 1934) is the senior United States Senator from
Alabama. He was a Democrat until 1994, when he switched parties, becoming a Republican. This move was politically important
because he was already a Senator.
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Shelby was a lawyer before
entering politics. He practiced law in Tuscaloosa, Alabama,
serving as city prosecutor from 1963 to 1971. He then entered politics, rising slowly but winning every election he tried. He was
a member of the Alabama state senate from 1970 to 1978, a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1987 and a member of the
United States Senate since 1986, when he defeated Republican incumbent Jeremiah Denton. He was reelected to the Senate in 1992 and for the first time as a Republican in 1998.
In the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Richard Shelby is known for the Shelby Amendment, a law he sponsored that
eased some of the restrictions placed on Dallas' secondary airport by the
contentious Wright Amendment. (See the Love Field article for a history of
these amendments.)
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