William Francis Hagerty IV (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 U.S. ambassador to Japan from 2017 to 2019. 
Hagerty worked as an economic advisor and White House fellow under President George H. W. Bush. He then began a career in private equity. Hagerty is the co-founder of Hagerty Peterson & Company, a private equity investment firm; he is a former managing director of the firm. From 2011 to 2014, Hagerty served as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. He led a successful effort to bring a Major League Soccer franchise to Nashville. President Donald Trump nominated Hagerty to serve as U.S. ambassador to Japan on March 27, 2017; he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 13, 2017 in an 86–12 vote. Hagerty was sworn in as the 30th United States ambassador to Japan on July 27, 2017; he resigned in July 2019 to run for the U.S. Senate.
Hagerty ran in the 2020 election for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Lamar Alexander. He won the Republican primary and defeated Democratic nominee Marquita Bradshaw in the general election.


== Early life and education ==
Hagerty is a native of Gallatin, in Sumner County, Tennessee. He became an Eagle Scout, and was awarded the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award in 2017. He is a 1977 graduate of Madisonville North Hopkins High School in Kentucky. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics and business administration in 1981 from Vanderbilt University and a Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt Law School in 1984.


== Career ==

Hagerty began his career at Boston Consulting Group, culminating in a three-year assignment to Tokyo. He was an economic advisor and White House Fellow in the administration of President George H. W. Bush and then began a career in private equity, initially at Trident Capital in Silicon Valley. Hagerty is the co-founder of Hagerty Peterson & Company, a private equity investment firm; he is a former managing director of the firm. He served as a national finance chair for Mitt Romney's 2008 presidential campaign.From 2011 to 2014, Hagerty served as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development in the cabinet of Governor Bill Haslam, where he played a role in investments by Bridgestone, Calsonic Kansei (now Magneti Marelli), and Nissan in Tennessee.Hagerty has served on the board of CyMed, NEW Customer Services, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Ryman Hospitality, Pinnacle Financial Partners, and R.J. O'Brien.


=== Nashville MLS Steering Committee ===
Before his confirmation as U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Hagerty founded and led the Nashville MLS Steering Committee, a coalition seeking to bring a Major League Soccer franchise to Nashville, Tennessee. The effort was successful, with Nashville being officially selected and named the first of two new MLS expansion markets on December 20, 2017. Nashville SC debuted in the 2020 MLS season.


=== 2016 presidential election ===
During the early stages of the 2016 presidential election, Hagerty was nominated to serve on the ballot as a delegate for Jeb Bush. Bush dropped out of the race before the Tennessee primary on March 1, 2016. After the Tennessee primary, Hagerty served as Trump Victory Chair for Tennessee. After Trump became the Republican nominee, he was selected in August of 2016 as director of appointments for Trump's presidential transition team.


=== United States Ambassador to Japan ===

Trump nominated Hagerty to be the United States Ambassador to Japan on March 27, 2017. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 13, 2017, in an 86–12 vote. He was sworn in as the 30th U.S. Ambassador on July 27, 2017.Before his confirmation, Hagerty was reportedly also under consideration for  United States Trade Representative, based on his prior international trade and U.S. foreign investment experience. The job eventually went to Robert Lighthizer, an attorney and former Reagan Administration official.
On July 16, 2019, Hagerty announced that he would resign as Ambassador to Japan to run for the Senate.


== U.S. Senate ==


=== Elections ===


==== 2020 ====

On July 12, 2019, Trump announced that Hagerty would resign as Ambassador to Japan to run in the U.S. Senate election in Tennessee in 2020. In the same tweet, Trump endorsed Hagerty for Senate. Hagerty was mentioned as a potential U.S. Secretary of State during the same period.Hagerty officially launched his Senate campaign on September 9, 2019. By September 30, he had raised $1.9 million for his campaign. By April 6, Hagerty had raised more than $7 million, with $1.2 million raised in the first quarter of 2020. Speakers at Hagerty campaign fundraisers included Donald Trump Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle, and Nikki Haley.Beginning in late May of 2020, news outlets began circulating an article, originally published by Roger Solle