Christopher John Dodd was a five-term U.S. Senator from the state of Connecticut (who also served six years in the House of Representatives). After his 36-year-career in Washington ended, Dodd was signed on to be the CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America in March 2011 at a seven figure salary. In such capacity, he serves as the movie industry's chief lobbyist. Dodd briefly was a candidate for the 2008 Democratic Party nomination for the presidency, but dropped out of the race after a disappointing finish in the Iowa caucuses. He grew up in Willimantic, Connecticut. His father Thomas Dodd was an Irish Catholic lawyer and politician who was elected to the House and the Senate. His son wrote a biography of his father focusing on his service as a prosecutor at the Nuremberg War Crime Trials.