Lester Lionel Wolff (January 4, 1919 – May 11, 2021) was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Long Island, New York.

In 2014, Wolff accepted the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award in the United States, on behalf of World War II members of the Civil Air Patrol.

[1] An expert in Asian affairs, Wolff was the chair of the Touro College Pacific Community Institute, the author of numerous books on foreign policy, and the host of the weekly PBS show Ask Congress.

[7] Wolff then founded his own firm, specializing in the food industry, and was executive director of the New York Conference of Retail Grocers.

He was an active participant in the civil rights movement who attended the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr. Wolff opposed creation of the Long Island Sound link.

[6] Wolff later leveraged his experience in Asian affairs to work as a paid lobbyist for Myanmar’s repressive military government.

[12] Wolff introduced amendments to the White House-sponsored Foreign Assistance Act of 1969 which tried to restore the initiative for direct peace talks between Israel and the Arab states.

He was the director of the Pacific Community Institute at Touro College, and published numerous books on foreign policy.

In 2014, he accepted the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award in the United States, on behalf of volunteers of the Civil Air Patrol who had served during World War II.