Sam Nunn

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Sam Nunn
Nunn, c. 2020
Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee
In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by	Barry Goldwater
Succeeded by	Strom Thurmond
United States Senator from Georgia
In office November 8, 1972 – January 3, 1997
Preceded by	David Gambrell
Succeeded by	Max Cleland
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 41st district, Post 1
In office January 13, 1969 – November 8, 1972
Preceded by	Glenn Phillips
Succeeded by	Guy Hill
Personal details
Born	Samuel Augustus Nunn Jr. (1938-09-08) September 8, 1938 (age 85) Macon, Georgia, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Colleen O'Brien ​ (m. 1965)​
Children	2, including Georgia Institute of Technology Emory University (BA, LLB)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Coast Guard
Years of service	1959–1968
Unit	United States Coast Guard Reserve
Nunn's voice Nunn on Frank Kelso's accountability for the Tailhook scandal Recorded April 19, 1994

Samuel Augustus Nunn Jr. (born September 8, 1938) is an American politician who served as a

After leaving Congress, Nunn co-founded the

Nunn was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Mary Elizabeth (née Cannon) and Samuel Augustus Nunn, who was an attorney and mayor of Perry, Georgia.^[2] Nunn was raised in Perry. He is a grandnephew of Congressman Carl Vinson.

Nunn was an

After active duty service in the United States Coast Guard, he served six years in the US Coast Guard Reserve and attained the rank of petty officer.^[8] He was also briefly a Congressional staff member.

Nunn returned to Perry, Georgia, where he practiced law and managed his family's farm. He served as president of the Perry Chamber of Commerce.

Political career

Nunn first entered politics as a member of the

Nunn actively worked to block President Bill Clinton's proposal to allow homosexuals to serve openly in the military.^[11][12] LGBT activist David Mixner openly referred to Nunn as an "old fashioned bigot" for opposing Clinton's plan to lift the military, though this was also reported to have angered the White House.^[13]

In 2008, Nunn endorsed a new Pentagon study to examine the issue of homosexuals serving openly in the military: "I think [when] 15 years go by on any personnel policy, it's appropriate to take another look at it—see how it's working, ask the hard questions, hear from the military. Start with a Pentagon study."^[14]

According to opensecrets.org, Sam Nunn received about $2.4 million during his 1989–1994 political career. His main contributors were the finance/insurance/real estate sector (totaling $411,665; $46,660 was received from Goldman, Sachs & Co.), the defense industry, lawyers and lobbyists, the alcohol and non-alcoholic beverages industry (including Coca-Cola), and the agriculture sector.^[15]

He voted in favor of

In September 1994, Nunn, former President Jimmy Carter and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell were asked by President Bill Clinton to go to Haiti to force the departure of the military dictator Lieutenant General Raoul Cédras. In 1994 Clinton publicly demanded that the Haitian government step aside and restore democratic rule. Clinton deployed a large military force to surround the country in September 1994. Just before the troops reached Haiti, Clinton sent a delegation led by Carter, Nunn and Powell to urge Cédras to step down and leave the country. Cédras agreed and surrendered the government, and he and his top lieutenants left the country in October. Just days later, American forces escorted the country's elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, into the capital. Afterwards, Clinton lavished praise on Nunn's delegation for averting a military strike on the nation. "As all of you know, at my request, President Carter, Gen. Colin Powell, and Sen. Sam Nunn went to Haiti to facilitate the dictators' departure. I have been in constant contact with them for the last two days. They have worked tirelessly, almost around the clock, and I want to thank them for undertaking this crucial mission on behalf of all Americans", Clinton said.^[18]

Upon his exit from the Senate at the end of 1996, Nunn was the recipient of bipartisan praise from his colleagues. Republican Senator John Warner of Virginia concluded, "Senator Nunn quickly established himself as one of the leading experts in the Congress and, indeed, all of the United States on national security and foreign policy. He gained a reputation in our country and, indeed, worldwide as a global thinker, and that is where I think he will make his greatest contribution in the years to come, wherever he may be, in terms of being a global thinker. His approach to national security issues has been guided by one fundamental criteria: What Sam Nunn believes is in the best interest of the United States of America."^[19]

Post-Congressional life

Nunn founded the Nuclear Threat Initiative in 2001 and served as co-chair and CEO until June 2017, when he became co-chair with Ted Turner and Ernest J. Moniz.

In addition to his work with the

Additionally, Nunn serves as Chairman Emeritus of the board of trustees for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. At CSIS Nunn and former Senator and United States Secretary of Defense William Cohen joined for a series of public roundtable discussions designed to focus Americans on the seminal issues that the United States must face. The Cohen-Nunn Dialogues featured top thought leaders, public policy experts, prominent journalists, and leading scholars.^[22]

Nunn is a retired partner in the law firm of King & Spalding. He was a board member of The Coca-Cola Company. In 2005, Nunn teamed up with former Senator Fred Thompson to promote a new film, Last Best Chance, on the dangers of excess nuclear weapons and materials. The film was produced by the Nuclear Threat Initiative and aired on HBO in October 2005.^[23] He gave a full presentation outlining his goals at the Commonwealth Club of California.

Nunn—along with

In 2010, the four were featured in a documentary film entitled Nuclear Tipping Point, also produced by the Nuclear Threat Initiative. The film is a visual and historical depiction of the ideas laid forth in the Wall Street Journal op-eds and reinforces their commitment to a world without nuclear weapons and the steps that can be taken to reach that goal.^{[citation needed]}

Nunn was a Member of the Supervisory Council of the International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe, a not-for-profit organization uniting leading experts on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, materials and delivery vehicles. He also served on the Board of Advisors for the National Bureau of Asian Research, a non-profit, nonpartisan research institution.^[25]

In June 2013, Nunn added his voice to public support for an updated nuclear-arms limitation agreement with Russia. The 1992 Nunn-Lugar agreement had just expired at a time of increasing political tension between the two nations. Nunn applauded the determination of presidents Obama and Putin to renew its core provisions, while urging further work to agree on chemical and biological weapons limits also.^[26]

Nunn served as a member the Board of Curators for the Georgia Historical Society. He was an advisory board member of Theranos, a fraudulent biotech company.^[27]

Speculation of 2008 presidential or vice-presidential candidacy

On August 19, 2007, Nunn said he would not decide on a presidential bid until after the 2008 primary season, when presumptive nominees by both parties would emerge.^[28] However, speculation over a Nunn White House bid ended on April 18, 2008, when he endorsed Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama.^[29]

Despite having publicly declared his lack of interest in being a candidate for vice president, Nunn continued to be mentioned by some political pundits and politicians as a potential running mate for Obama.^[30][31][32]

In an interview published June 4, 2008 by The Guardian, former President Jimmy Carter said that he favored Nunn (a fellow Georgian) as Obama's possible choice for vice president. Peggy Noonan, a columnist and former Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush speechwriter also expressed her support for Nunn.^[33] In an interview with CNBC on August 22, 2008, billionaire investor Warren Buffett said that he favored Nunn as Obama's choice for vice president.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Nunn is married to the former Colleen O'Brien. Nunn met his future wife at the

In 1989, it was reported that Nunn had had a drunk driving crash in 1964. This report emerged during the United States Secretary of Defense confirmation hearings of ex-Senator John Tower. Nunn was opposing Tower due to Tower's alleged drinking problems.^[37]

Senator Nunn's membership in Augusta National Golf Club became the focus of a campaign by women seeking membership in the exclusive all-male club in 2002. The club had admitted its first African-American member in 1990, but was still closed to women. The Club chose to air the Masters without commercials rather than succumb to the pressure to open admissions to women.^[38]

Nunn is a Freemason.^[39]

Awards and honors

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2013)

• In 1990, the Georgia Institute of Technology renamed its international affairs department, the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs.
• In 1996, Nunn received the U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards.^[40]
• In 2004, Nunn and Lugar were jointly awarded the
  Heinz Awards Chairman's Medal for their efforts.^[41]
• An honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Oglethorpe University in 2006^[42]
• The Hessian Peace Prize in 2008 for his commitment on nuclear disarmament and for combating nuclear terrorism.^[43]
• In 2009, Sam Nunn was presented the Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award by the American Foreign Service Association.
• 2011 Georgia Trustee. Given by the Georgia Historical Society, in conjunction with the Governor of Georgia, to individuals whose accomplishments and community service reflect the ideals of the founding body of Trustees, which governed the Georgia colony from 1732 to 1752.^[44]
• 2011 Inaugural recipient of the annual Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage, awarded by the Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia Tech's Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts^[45]
• 2013 Knight Commander of the Order of Merit of the
  Federal Republic of Germany^[46]
• Lone Sailor Award by the U.S. Navy Veterans Memorial in September 2014^[47]

See also

• Anti-nuclear movement
• International Conference on Nuclear Disarmament

References

Further reading

• McElroy, Roland (2017). The Best President the Nation Never Had: A Memoir of Working with Sam Nunn. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press.
  OCLC 994371337
  .

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Sam Nunn.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sam Nunn.

Wikisource has original works by or about:
Sam Nunn

• Annotated Bibliography for Sam Nunn from the ALsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues Archived 2010-05-05 at the Wayback Machine
• Sam Nunn, Chairman Board of Directors CSIS
• Sam Nunn, NTI Board of Directors
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Sam Nunn at the Commonwealth Club
• Sam Nunn Papers at the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
• Foreign Service Journal article on his Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award.

Party political offices
Preceded by Richard Russell	1972, 1978, 1984, 1990	Succeeded by Max Cleland
Preceded by Chuck Robb	Chair of the Democratic Leadership Council 1988–1990	Succeeded by Bill Clinton
U.S. Senate
Preceded by David Gambrell	United States Senator (Class 2) from Georgia 1972–1997 Served alongside: Herman Talmadge, Mack Mattingly, Wyche Fowler, Paul Coverdell	Succeeded by Max Cleland
Preceded by John C. Stennis	Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee 1983–1987	Succeeded by John Warner
Preceded by Barry Goldwater	Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee 1987–1995	Succeeded by Strom Thurmond
Preceded by Strom Thurmond	Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee 1995–1997	Succeeded by Carl Levin
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by Kent Conrad as Former US Senator	Order of precedence of the United States as Former US Senator	Succeeded by J. Bennett Johnston as Former US Senator