Daniel Inouye

Daniel Inouye (born September 7, 1924, Honolulu, Hawaii [U.S.]—died December 17, 2012, Bethesda, Maryland) was an American Democratic politician who was the first U.S. representative of Hawaii (1959–63) and who later served as a U.S. senator (1963–2012). He was the first Japanese American to serve in both bodies of Congress.

Inouye was born to working-class parents of Japanese ancestry. His father had moved to Hawaii as a child, and his mother was born there. Following the attacks on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Inouye, who was a Red Cross medical aide, assisted in caring for victims of the raid. Intending to become a surgeon, he enrolled in the premedical program at the University of Hawaii. However, he left in March 1943 to join the 442nd Regimental Combat Team of the U.S. Army, a unit composed solely of Nisei (second-generation Japanese Americans), and he eventually attained the rank of second lieutenant. Inouye was seriously wounded in Italy in 1945, and his injuries necessitated the amputation of his right arm. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and several other honours as well as a promotion to captain.

After nearly two years in an army hospital in Michigan, Inouye resumed his studies at the University of Hawaii, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in government and economics (1950). He then attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., receiving a law degree in 1952. Inouye subsequently returned to Honolulu and briefly practiced law before becoming the deputy public prosecutor for the city (1953–54). In 1954 he was elected to the Hawaii Territorial House of Representatives, where he served as the Democratic majority leader (1954–58). In 1958 he became a senator for the territory. After Hawaii’s accession to statehood in 1959, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Inouye was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1962 and continued to win reelection into the 21st century.

During his tenure in the Senate, Inouye developed a reputation as a mild and genteel politician who nonetheless doggedly advocated for his positions. He first came to national prominence when serving on the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities (popularly known as the Watergate Committee; 1973–74), and in 1976 he was the first to helm the newly formed Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. In 1987 Inouye served as chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the Nicaraguan Opposition, which investigated the Iran-Contra Affair. He was also variously chairman and vice chairman of the Select Committee on Indian Affairs (1987–2005).

In 2000 U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton awarded him the Medal of Honor for his service in World War II. In January 2009 Inouye was appointed chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee following the resignation of West Virginia Sen. Robert C. Byrd; he also replaced Byrd as president pro tempore of the Senate after Byrd’s death in 2010. In 2013 Inouye was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.