Stephen Joshua Solarz (/ˈsoʊlɑːrz/; September 12, 1940 – November 29, 2010) was an American educator and politician who served as a United States representative from New York until his political career ended in the wake of the House banking scandal in 1992.

[4] In the 1973 Democratic primary, Solarz ran against Sebastian Leone for Brooklyn borough president, and lost.

On July 18, 1980, Solarz became the first American public official to visit North Korea since the end of the Korean War, and the first to meet with Kim Il-sung.

Following Aquino's assassination, Solarz returned to Manila for the funeral and proceeded to push the Reagan administration to distance itself from the Marcos government.

"[6] Solarz had strong ties to India and was held in high esteem by Indian leaders across the political spectrum.

He visited India dozens of times, during and after his term in Congress, and once received a standing ovation on the floor of the Indian Parliament, as has happened to only a few Westerners, such as Presidents Bill Clinton and John F. Kennedy.

[8] In 1998, he co-signed — along with several neoconservative intellectuals — an open letter sent to president Bill Clinton, declaring that Saddam Hussein still held chemical and biological weapons, with no intention to give them up.

[9] The round of redistricting following the 1990 Census divided his district into six pieces, reflecting his cold relations with many state lawmakers in Albany.

However, Solarz was forced to withdraw from consideration after scrutiny of his efforts to obtain a visa for Albert Yeung, a Hong Kong businessman with a criminal record.

[17] He was also a founding member of the board of directors of the Hollings Center for International Dialogue, helping to establish the organization's presence in Turkey, and served until his death in 2010.