William Francis Hagerty IV (/ˈhæɡərti/ HAG-ər-tee; born August 14, 1959) is an American politician, businessman, and diplomat serving as the junior United States senator from Tennessee since 2021.

A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 30th United States ambassador to Japan from 2017 to 2019 under President Donald Trump.

President Trump nominated Hagerty to serve as U.S. ambassador to Japan on March 27, 2017; the U.S. Senate confirmed him on July 13 in an 86–12 vote.

He won the Republican primary and defeated Democratic nominee Marquita Bradshaw in the general election.

[3][4] Hagerty began his career at Boston Consulting Group, culminating in a three-year assignment to Tokyo.

[3] He was an economic advisor and White House Fellow in the administration of President George H. W. Bush[5] and then began a career in private equity, initially at Trident Capital in Silicon Valley.

[8] Hagerty has served on the board of CyMed, NEW Customer Services, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Ryman Hospitality, Pinnacle Financial Partners, and R.J.

[10][11][12][13] During the early stages of the 2016 presidential election, Hagerty was nominated to serve on the ballot as a delegate for Jeb Bush.

[25] When asked about possible successors, Alexander named Hagerty and former governor Bill Haslam as the "most obvious" candidates.

[27] The next day, Trump tweeted that Hagerty would resign as ambassador to Japan to run for the open Senate seat.

[34] Speakers at Hagerty campaign fundraisers included Donald Trump Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle,[35] and Nikki Haley.

[36] Beginning in late May 2020, news outlets began circulating an article, originally published by Roger Sollenberger in Salon, discussing allegations of campaign finance misconduct by Hagerty.

[37] The article focused largely on a loan given to the Hagerty Campaign by Pinnacle Financial Partners almost immediately following the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.

[44][45] Hagerty initially planned to object to certifying the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count over unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.

[57] Hagerty supports the death penalty for people convicted of engaging in human trafficking acts.