Frank Joseph Guarini

Frank Joseph Guarini Jr. (August 20, 1924 – June 20, 2026) was an American politician from the U.S. state of New Jersey who served as a member of the New Jersey Senate from 1966 to 1972 and as a member of the United States House of Representatives for seven terms from 1979 to 1993.

Early life and education Guarini was born on August 20, 1924, in Jersey City, New Jersey, to Frank Joseph Guarini Sr. and the former Caroline Critelli. He was of Italian descent. He served in the United States Navy aboard from 1944 to 1946. He pursued graduate work at The Hague Academy of International Law and was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1951.

Congress Guarini was elected as a Democrat for New Jersey's 14th congressional district to the 96th United States Congress and was reelected six times. He retired from Congress in 1993. His district number was eliminated following the 1990 United States Census, but in a sense was succeeded by Bob Menendez in the renumbered 13th district.

Personal life In 1954, Guarini married Audrey Berman. The couple later divorced. On June 20, 2026, he died in Jersey City at the age of 101. He was interred with his parents in the chapel mausoleum of Holy Cross Cemetery in North Arlington, New Jersey on June 29, 2026.

Legacy

The Jersey City post office building on the corner of Montgomery and Washington is now dedicated to Guarini. John Cabot University in Rome, Italy, designated its campus as the Frank J. Guarini campus, and the library at New Jersey City University is also named in his honor.

Guarini received the America Award of the Italy–USA Foundation in 2014.

Dartmouth has created the Frank J. Guarini Institute for International Education in recognition of his longtime support of the college.

Guarini's second alma mater New York University School of Law named two of its centers/institutes after him. The Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy and Land Use Law focuses on land and environmental policy. The Guarini Institute for Global Legal Studies focuses on transnational law. Guarini became the oldest living former U.S. Representative following the death of Al Quie in August 2023.