Edward George Biester

Edward George Biester Jr. (born January 5, 1931) is a retired Republican politician, attorney, and judge who represented Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives from 1967 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party, he served five consecutive terms in Congress during a significant period in American history, contributing to the legislative process and representing the interests of his constituents in Pennsylvania.

Biester was born on January 5, 1931, and was raised in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He graduated from George School in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in 1948. He went on to attend Wesleyan University, from which he graduated in 1952. Pursuing a legal career, he enrolled at Temple University School of Law (now Temple University Beasley School of Law) in Philadelphia and received his law degree in 1955. His legal education laid the foundation for a career that would span prosecution, elective office, and the judiciary.

After completing law school, Biester entered the practice of law and soon moved into public service at the county level. From 1958 through 1964, he served as Assistant District Attorney for Bucks County, Pennsylvania. In this role he gained prosecutorial and courtroom experience and became more widely known in local legal and political circles. His work as a county prosecutor helped establish his reputation as a capable attorney and provided a springboard for his entry into national politics.

Biester was elected as a Republican to the 90th Congress and to the four succeeding Congresses, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from January 3, 1967, to January 3, 1977. During his ten years in Congress, he participated actively in the democratic process at the federal level and represented his Pennsylvania district through a decade marked by the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, and significant social and economic change. As a member of the House of Representatives, Edward George Biester contributed to the legislative process over five terms in office, working within the Republican Conference and on committee assignments to advance the interests and concerns of his constituents. He chose not to be a candidate for reelection in 1976, concluding his congressional service at the end of the 94th Congress.

Following his departure from Congress, Biester remained engaged in public affairs and civic life. In 1977, he was elected to the Common Cause National Governing Board, aligning himself with a prominent nonpartisan organization focused on government accountability and political reform. He returned to state-level public office when he was appointed Attorney General of Pennsylvania, serving from 1979 to 1980. In that capacity, he was the chief law enforcement officer and chief legal officer of the Commonwealth, overseeing the state’s legal affairs and law enforcement initiatives.

In 1980, Biester transitioned to the judiciary, beginning a long tenure on the bench in his home county. He was elected a judge of the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas (7th Judicial District) in 1980 and served on that court until 2006. During this period he presided over a wide range of civil and criminal matters in the Pennsylvania trial court system. From 2001 to 2006, he held the status of senior judge, continuing to hear cases while assuming a reduced caseload in accordance with Pennsylvania’s provisions for experienced jurists.

Biester also played a role in the evolving system of military commissions in the early twenty-first century. Beginning in 2003, he served as a member of the Office of Military Commissions in the United States Department of Defense, participating in the legal framework established to try certain offenses under the laws of war. In September 2004, he was appointed to the United States Court of Military Commission Review, a federal body created to review decisions of military commissions. His service in these roles extended his judicial and legal experience into the specialized field of military and national security law.

After more than two decades on the bench, Biester entered the field of alternative dispute resolution. In April 2007, he joined JAMS, The Resolution Experts, as a full-time mediator and arbitrator at the JAMS Philadelphia Resolution Center, located in the Bell Atlantic Tower on Arch Street. In this capacity, he has applied his extensive background in litigation, legislation, and judging to the private resolution of complex disputes, continuing a long career devoted to law, public service, and the administration of justice.