Sam Nunn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sam Nunn
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Nunn, c. 2020
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| Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee | |
| In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1995 |
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| Preceded by | Barry Goldwater |
| Succeeded by | Strom Thurmond |
| United States Senator from Georgia |
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| In office November 8, 1972 – January 3, 1997 |
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| Preceded by | David Gambrell |
| Succeeded by | Max Cleland |
| Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 41st district, Post 1 |
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| In office January 13, 1969 – November 8, 1972 |
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| Preceded by | Glenn Phillips |
| Succeeded by | Guy Hill |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Samuel Augustus Nunn Jr.
September 8, 1938 Macon, Georgia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Colleen O'Brien
(m. 1965) |
| Children | 2, including Michelle |
| Education | |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Coast Guard |
| Years of service | 1959–1968 |
| Unit | United States Coast Guard Reserve |
Samuel Augustus Nunn Jr. (born September 8, 1938) is an American politician. He served as a U.S. Senator for Georgia from 1972 to 1997. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
After leaving the Senate, Sam Nunn helped start the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI). This group works to make the world safer. It focuses on reducing dangers from nuclear, biological, and new technologies. His experience in national defense made him a possible choice for Vice President. He was considered by presidential candidates John Kerry and Barack Obama.
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Early Life and Education
Sam Nunn was born in Macon, Georgia. His father, Samuel Augustus Nunn, was a lawyer and mayor of Perry, Georgia. Sam Nunn grew up in Perry. He is also the grandnephew of Congressman Carl Vinson.
Boy Scouts and High School Sports
Nunn was an Eagle Scout. This is the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America. He also received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. In high school, he was a great athlete. He was the captain of his school's basketball team. They won the state championship.
College Years
Nunn attended Georgia Tech starting in 1956. He later transferred to Emory University in 1959. He earned his first degree in 1961. In 1962, he received a law degree from the Emory University School of Law.
Early Career and Public Service
After college, Sam Nunn served in the United States Coast Guard. He was on active duty and then in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve for six years. He reached the rank of petty officer. He also worked for a member of Congress.
Nunn then returned to Perry, Georgia. There, he worked as a lawyer and managed his family's farm. He also became the president of the Perry Chamber of Commerce.
Political Career in the Senate
Sam Nunn began his political career in 1968. He was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives. In 1972, he was elected to the United States Senate. He won against the appointed U.S. Senator David H. Gambrell and U.S. Representative Fletcher Thompson. Nunn decided to retire from the Senate in 1997. He said he no longer had the same "zest and enthusiasm" for the job.
Key Roles and Achievements
During his time in the Senate, Nunn held important positions. He was the chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services. He also led the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. He served on the Intelligence and Small Business Committees.
One of his major achievements was the Goldwater-Nichols Act. This law helped reorganize the Department of Defense. He worked on this with Senator Barry Goldwater. Another key program was the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. This program helped Russia and other former Soviet countries. It helped them secure and destroy their extra nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. The Nunn-Lugar program helped deactivate over 7,600 nuclear warheads.
Political Stance and Important Votes
Nunn was known as a moderate Democrat. He sometimes disagreed with his party on social and economic issues. He voted for things like school prayer and limiting death penalty appeals. He also supported amending the U.S. Constitution to require a balanced budget.
On other issues, like the environment and gun control, he took a more liberal view. He consistently voted to increase immigration. One of his most talked-about votes was against the Gulf War.
Diplomatic Missions
In September 1994, President Bill Clinton asked Nunn to join a special mission. Former President Jimmy Carter and General Colin Powell also joined. They went to Haiti to convince the military leader, Lieutenant General Raoul Cédras, to leave power. Clinton had sent a large military force to Haiti. Just before the troops arrived, the delegation convinced Cédras to step down. He and his top leaders left the country in October. Soon after, American forces helped the elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, return to the capital. President Clinton praised Nunn and the delegation for preventing a military conflict.
When Nunn left the Senate in 1996, his colleagues praised him. Republican Senator John Warner said Nunn was a leading expert on national security and foreign policy. He called Nunn a "global thinker."
Life After Congress
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In 2001, Sam Nunn founded the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI). He was a co-chair and CEO until June 2017. After that, he became co-chair with Ted Turner and Ernest J. Moniz.
Nunn also continued to work in public policy. He became a distinguished professor at the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech. There, he hosted the Sam Nunn Policy Forum. This meeting brought together experts to discuss important issues in technology, public policy, and international affairs.
He was also an active member of the advisory board for the Partnership for a Secure America. This group works to bring together both political parties on national security and foreign policy issues. Nunn signed many of their statements on topics like climate change and nonproliferation.
Nunn is also Chairman Emeritus of the board of trustees for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). At CSIS, he and former Senator William Cohen held public discussions. These "Cohen-Nunn Dialogues" focused on key issues facing the United States.
Nunn was a partner in the law firm of King & Spalding. He also served on the board of The Coca-Cola Company. In 2005, he worked with former Senator Fred Thompson to promote a film called Last Best Chance. This film was about the dangers of too many nuclear weapons. It was shown on HBO.
Working for a World Without Nuclear Weapons
Nunn, along with William Perry, Henry Kissinger, and George Shultz, has called for a world free of nuclear weapons. They wrote several articles in Wall Street Journal about steps to reach this goal. The four created the Nuclear Security Project to work on this idea. Nunn spoke about this at the Harvard Kennedy School in 2008. He said he was more worried about terrorists with nuclear weapons than about wars between nuclear powers.
In 2010, the four men were featured in a documentary film. It was called Nuclear Tipping Point. This film showed their ideas and their commitment to a world without nuclear weapons.
Nunn was also on the supervisory council of the International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe. This group brings together experts on preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. He was also on the Board of Advisors for the National Bureau of Asian Research.
In June 2013, Nunn supported updating a nuclear-arms agreement with Russia. The 1992 Nunn-Lugar agreement had just ended. He praised Presidents Obama and Putin for renewing its main parts. He also urged more work on chemical and biological weapons limits.
He was a member of the Board of Curators for the Georgia Historical Society.
Books and Honors
Several books have been written about Sam Nunn's life. "The Best President the Nation Never Had: A Memoir of Working with Sam Nunn" was written by his former Chief of Staff, Roland McElroy. "Sam Nunn: Statesman of the Nuclear Age," by Frank Leith Jones, looks at Nunn's Senate career. It focuses on his work in nuclear and national security policy.
In 2019, the U.S. Navy announced that a new Arleigh Burke-class Missile Destroyer would be named the USS Sam Nunn.
Presidential Speculation
In 2007, there was talk that Sam Nunn might run for president or vice president. He said he would not decide until after the 2008 primary elections. However, he ended the speculation in April 2008. He endorsed Barack Obama for president.
Even though he said he was not interested in being Vice President, some experts still mentioned him. Former President Jimmy Carter said he favored Nunn as Obama's choice. Columnist Peggy Noonan and investor Warren Buffett also supported Nunn for the role.
Personal Life
Sam Nunn is married to Colleen O'Brien. They met at the U.S. Embassy in Paris. They have two children, Mary Michelle Nunn and Samuel Brian Nunn. Michelle Nunn is the CEO of Points of Light and CARE. She ran for the Senate in 2014 but was not elected.
According to the book Talking Straight by Lee Iacocca, Sam Nunn's experience with a new car helped change a company policy. After a meeting with Nunn in 1987, Iacocca, the CEO of Chrysler, launched an investigation into car sales practices. This led to extended warranties and public apologies for many Chrysler owners.
Sam Nunn is a Freemason.
Awards and Honors
- In 1990, the Georgia Institute of Technology renamed its international affairs department to the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs.
- In 1996, Nunn received the U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service.
- In 2004, Nunn and Senator Lugar received the Heinz Awards Chairman's Medal for their work.
- He received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Oglethorpe University in 2006.
- He was awarded the Hessian Peace Prize in 2008 for his work on nuclear disarmament.
- In 2009, Sam Nunn received the Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award.
- In 2011, he was named a Georgia Trustee by the Georgia Historical Society.
- Also in 2011, he received the first annual Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage.
- In 2013, he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
- He received the Lone Sailor Award in September 2014.
See also
- Anti-nuclear movement
- International Conference on Nuclear Disarmament
