Nunn, Sam
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.]
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
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Nunn, Sam