Daniel Inouye

Daniel Ken Inouye (/iːˈnoʊˌeɪ/ ee-NOH-ay; Japanese: 井上 建; September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012) was an American attorney, soldier, and statesman from the state of Hawaii. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Hawaii in the United States Senate from 1963 until his death. Prior to his Senate service, he served in the Hawaii Territorial Legislature and the United States House of Representatives. Inouye is a Medal of Honor recipient for his heroism during World War II, in which he lost his right arm while serving with the 442nd Infantry Regiment.

Inouye earned a J.D. degree from George Washington University Law School in 1952. He was elected to Hawaii's territorial House of Representatives the following year and was elected to the territorial Senate in 1957. When Hawaii achieved statehood in 1959, Inouye was elected as its first member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1962. Inouye was the second Asian American U.S. senator in history, following Hawaii Republican Hiram Fong. Because of his seniority, Inouye became president pro tempore of the Senate following the death of Robert Byrd on June 28, 2010, making him third in the presidential line of succession after the vice president and the speaker of the House of Representatives. Inouye continued to serve in the U.S. Senate until his death in 2012. He never lost an election in 58 years as an elected official, and he exercised an exceptionally large influence on Hawaii politics.

Inouye was a posthumous recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Order of the Paulownia Flowers. Among other public structures named after Inouye, Honolulu International Airport has since been renamed Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in his memory.