James W. Grant

James William "Bill" Grant (born September 21, 1943) is an American banker and former politician from Madison, Florida. From 1987 to 1991, he served two terms in the United States House of Representatives.

Biography A graduate of Florida State University, he attended the University of Florida for graduate studies. He is a fifth generation Floridian whose family has lived in North Florida since before statehood. He is a former Member of the Florida State Senate and the United States Congress and his party’s nominee to the U.S. Senate. Prior to beginning his political career, he organized and ran several North Florida commercial banks and was twice elected president of the Florida Bankers Association.

Congress He represented in the U.S. Congress from 1987 to 1991. After being elected as a Democrat from the Tallahassee-based 2nd District to succeed 12-term Democrat Don Fuqua, he switched parties to become a Republican on February 21, 1989.

He was defeated for reelection in 1990 by businessman and Vietnam veteran Pete Peterson. Grant then ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 1992, losing to incumbent Bob Graham.

Later career After leaving politics, he organized and is now CEO of MK Meridian, Inc, an international conflict resolution, trade, and diplomatic advisory firm. In that capacity, he has mediated numerous sovereign and commercial conflicts across Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He helped organize the United Africa Association, a 13-nation effort for promoting pan-African self-help, free-enterprise capitalism, and democracy.

In 1997, with the assistance of the government of Egypt, he negotiated the end to the first Somali civil war and authored a draft constitutional government for that nation. He has been the senior advisor to two sovereign foreign governments and twice served as Special United States Congressional Envoy to international trouble spots. He served as Executive Vice President of Worldwide Chemical, LLC, a multi-faceted chemical production facility in Ukraine with 11,000 employees and a worldwide market.

Family Grant is married to the former Janet Krawiec. They have two children. Grant also has two children from a previous marriage.