Sam Nunn

Sam Nunn (Samuel Augustus Nunn, Jr.), 1938-, U.S. Senator from Georgia (1973-97), b. Perry, Ga. A lawyer, he was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives (1968-72) and won election as a U.S. Senator in 1972. A conservative Democrat, he has been one of the Senate's more influential leaders, particularly during his term as chairman (1987-95) of the Armed Services Committee. In private law practice after retiring from the Senate, Nunn joined with Ted Turner to establish (2001) the Nuclear Threat Initiative, an organization devoted to controlling the proliferation of nuclear arms; Nunn is its co-chairman and chief executive officer.

Nunn, Sam (1938–), U.S. senator.Nunn was born in Perry, Georgia. After attending Georgia Tech, he enlisted as a seaman in the Coast Guard for a year's active duty, followed by several years in the reserves. Meanwhile, he graduated from Emory University, receiving a law degree (1962). In 1963, he served as legal counsel to the House Armed Services Committee, and then returned to the family farm to practice law in Perry.

In 1972, Nunn won the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Richard Russell of Georgia, longtime head of the Armed Services Committee. He served on that committee (1973–96), and as chair (1987–94), becoming one of the most influential senators on military and arms control issues.

A conservative southern Democrat, Nunn was often at odds with liberal Democrats and Republicans. In the late 1970s, he urged major increases in NATO's conventional firepower and advocated the neutron bomb and the adoption of national service. He was also a significant critic of SALT II. Building bipartisan alliances, Nunn obtained several key weapons systems and blocked the Clinton administration's plan for equal rights for gay men and lesbians in the military.

Reflecting concerns in the military, Nunn initially opposed the idea of a ground war against Iraq in 1991, and he helped avert a military invasion of Haiti in 1994. For more than a decade, before he retired in 1996, Nunn was the dominant voice in the Senate on defense policy.
[See also Haiti, U.S. Military Involvement in; SALT Treaties.]

John Whiteclay Chambers II

Nunn, Sam (1938–) U.S. senator (1973–96), member (1973–96) and chairman (1987–94) of the Senate Armed Services Committee, born in Perry, Georgia. In the late 1970s he urged major increases in NATO's conventional firepower while also advocating the neutron bomb and the adoption of national service. Nunn was an outspoken critic of SALT II. Before being elected to the Senate, Nunn had been legal counsel to the House Armed Services Committee (1963).