Jonas Martin Frost III (born January 1, 1942) is an American politician, who was the Democratic representative to the U.S. House of Representatives for Texas's 24th congressional district from 1979 to 2005. Personal life Frost was born to a Jewish family in Glendale, California, the son of Doris (nee Marwil) and Jack Frost. He has one sister, Carol Frost Wagner. His grandfather, Joe Frost, was co-founder of Frost Brothers Department Store. In 1949, his family moved to Fort Worth, Texas where his father took a job with Convair Aircraft. In 1964, he graduated from the University of Missouri with a bachelor of journalism and a Bachelor of Arts in history. As a student, Frost was editor of The Maneater, is a brother of Zeta Beta Tau, and was tapped by Omicron Delta Kappa and QEBH. After graduating, Frost worked as a newspaper reporter, including positions at The News Journal of Wilmington, Delaware. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1970. Following his graduation he worked as a law clerk for Federal Judge Sarah T. Hughes of the Northern District of Texas, after which he practiced law in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. In addition, Frost was a legal commentator on KERA-TV. Frost served in the United States Army Reserve from 1966 to 1972. Political career Frost ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the House in 1974. He tried again successfully in 1978, becoming the first Jewish U.S. congressman from Texas. Frost was reelected 12 times without serious opposition. In 1980, he defeated an African American Republican opponent, Clay Smothers. On October 10, 2002, Martin Frost was among the 81 House Democrats who voted in favor of authorizing the invasion of Iraq. He served two terms as the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus from 1999 to 2003, the number three post in the Democrats' House leadership after the minority leader and minority whip. As Democratic Caucus Chair, Frost was often at odds with another prominent Dallas-area Congressman, Dick Armey, who was the Republican House Majority Leader. Due to term limits as Democratic Caucus Chair, Frost made a bid for Minority Leader after Dick Gephardt resigned in the wake of losing four seats in the 2002 Congressional midterm elections, but Frost dropped out of the race and supported eventual winner Nancy Pelosi. Frost was the ranking member of the House Rules Committee during his last term