Former U.S. Rep. David S. King, D-Utah, who served three terms in

Congress and was an ambassador to two African countries, was buried

Saturday, May 9, in suburban Maryland.

He died Tuesday at age 91.

He was a House member from 1959 to 1963 and again from 1965-67 when

civil rights legislation was being debated and the U.S. space program was

just beginning (he supported both).

King grew up in politics. His father, William H. King, was a

two-term U.S. House member from Utah and a four-term U.S. senator.

David King ran for (and lost) the Senate after two House terms in 1962

against former Sen. Wallace Bennett, R-Utah (the father of current Sen. Bob

Bennett, R-Utah).

He had one of the more distinguished careers among ex-members of

Congress from Utah. That included serving for three years as the U.S.

ambassador to the African island nations of Madagascar and Mauritius (he

spoke fluent French, an official language there).

President Jimmy Carter also appointed him as a director of the World

Bank, which provides loans to help developing nations.

King remained in the Washington, D.C., area after he was defeated in

Congress and became a Mormon bishop in Kensington, Md.

While in that assignment, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day

Saints chose a site within its boundaries for its Washington Temple. King later because president of that temple for three years.

He also wrote a book about temples titled "Come to the House of the

Lord."

King also served three years as president of the LDS mission in

Haiti. Interspersed among those assignments, he was a lawyer specializing

in international trade.

Two years ago, he told the Deseret News that he had been too busy to

miss Congress much.

"Do I miss any of it? A little bit. It (Congress) is exciting, and it's

exciting to debate and defend causes in which you have strong beliefs.

Sometimes I look back a bit, but not much. I'm very satisfied with my

life," he said two years ago.

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"The problem with serving in Congress is that you make enemies. You

cannot avoid it. If you don't make enemies, you are not doing your job. You

have to be a forceful advocate. It's a little contrary to my nature. I

guess I'm a man of peace," he said.

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