Daniel Inouye

Daniel Ken Inouye September 7 1924 December 17 2012 was an American attorney soldier and politician who served as a United States senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012 Beginning in 1959 he was the first US Representative for the State of Hawaii and a Medal of Honor recipient A member of the Democratic Party he also served as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate from 2010 until his death Inouye was the highestranking AsianAmerican politician in US history until Kamala Harris became vice president in 2021 Inouye also chaired various senate committees including those on Intelligence Indian Affairs Commerce and Appropriations Inouye fought in World War II as part of the 442nd Infantry Regiment He lost his right arm to a grenade wound and received several military decorations including the Medal of Honor the nations highest military award He later earned a JD degree from George Washington University Law School Returning to Hawaii Inouye was elected to Hawaiis territorial House of Representatives in 1953 and was elected to the territorial Senate in 1957 When Hawaii achieved statehood in 1959 Inouye was elected as its first member of the House of Representatives He was first elected to the US Senate in 1962 He never lost an election in 58 years as an elected official and he exercised an exceptionally large influence on Hawaii politics Inouye was the second Asian American senator following Hawaii Republican Hiram Fong Inouye was the first Japanese American to serve in the US House of Representatives and the first to serve in the US Senate Because of his seniority Inouye became president pro tempore of the Senate following the death of Robert Byrd on June 29 2010 making him third in the presidential line of succession after the Vice President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives At the time of his death Inouye was the most senior sitting US senator the secondoldest sitting US senator seven and a half months younger than Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and the last sitting US senator to have served during the presidencies of John F Kennedy Lyndon B Johnson and Richard Nixon Inouye was a posthumous recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Order of the Paulownia Flowers Among other public structures Honolulu International Airport has since been renamed Daniel K Inouye International Airport in his memory