List of Arab and Middle-Eastern Americans in the United States Congress
This is a list of Arab Americans and Middle-Eastern Americans in the U.S. Congress. The first Arab American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives was George A. Kasem in 1959, and the first Arab-American U.S. Senator was James Abourezk in 1973. Currently, there are six U.S. Representatives and no U.S. Senators of Arab-American descent serving in Congress.[1][2] The first Assyrian American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives was Adam Benjamin in 1977,[3] and there currently is one Assyrian-American U.S. Representative serving in Congress.
Senate
Picture | Senator (lifespan) |
Arab or Middle-Eastern Ethnicity | Party | State | Term start | Term end | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
James Abourezk (born 1931) |
Lebanese | Democratic | South Dakota | January 3, 1973 | January 3, 1979 | Retired | |
George J. Mitchell (born 1933) |
Lebanese | Democratic | Maine | May 17, 1980 | January 3, 1995 | Retired | |
James Abdnor (1923–2012) |
Lebanese | Republican | South Dakota | January 3, 1981 | January 3, 1987 | Lost reelection | |
Spencer Abraham (born 1952) |
Lebanese | Republican | Michigan | January 3, 1995 | January 3, 2001 | Lost reelection | |
John E. Sununu (born 1964) |
Palestinian, Lebanese |
Republican | New Hampshire | January 3, 2003 | January 3, 2009 | Lost reelection | |
House of Representatives
Picture | Representative (lifespan) |
Arab or Middle-Eastern Ethnicity | Party | State | Term start | Term end | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
George A. Kasem (1919–2002) |
Lebanese | Democratic | California | January 3, 1959 | January 3, 1961 | Lost reelection | |
Abraham Kazen (1919–1987) |
Lebanese | Democratic | Texas | January 3, 1967 | January 3, 1985 | Lost renomination | |
James Abourezk (born 1931) |
Lebanese | Democratic | South Dakota | January 3, 1971 | January 3, 1973 | Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senator from South Dakota | |
James Abdnor (1923–2012) |
Lebanese | Republican | South Dakota | January 3, 1973 | January 3, 1981 | Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senator from South Dakota | |
Toby Moffett (born 1944) |
Lebanese | Democratic | Connecticut | January 3, 1975 | January 3, 1983 | Retired to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senator from Connecticut | |
Adam Benjamin (1935–1982) |
Assyrian | Democratic | Indiana | January 3, 1977 | September 7, 1982 | Died in office | |
Mary Rose Oakar (born 1940) |
Lebanese, Syrian |
Democratic | Ohio | January 3, 1977 | January 3, 1993 | Lost reelection | |
Nick Rahall (born 1949) |
Lebanese | Democratic | West Virginia | January 3, 1977 | January 3, 2015 | Lost reelection | |
Pat Danner (born 1934) |
Lebanese | Democratic | Missouri | January 3, 1993 | January 3, 2001 | Retired | |
Anna Eshoo (born 1942) |
Assyrian | Democratic | California | January 3, 1993 | present | ||
John Baldacci (born 1955) |
Lebanese | Democratic | Maine | January 3, 1995 | August 3, 2003 | Retired to run successfully for Governor of Maine | |
Ray LaHood (born 1945) |
Lebanese | Republican | Illinois | January 3, 1995 | January 3, 2009 | Retired to become U.S. Secretary of Transportation | |
Chris John (born 1960) |
Lebanese | Democratic | Louisiana | January 3, 1997 | January 3, 2005 | Retired to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senator from Louisiana | |
John E. Sununu (born 1964) |
Palestinian, Lebanese |
Republican | New Hampshire | January 3, 1997 | January 3, 2003 | Retired to run successfully for U.S. Senator from New Hampshire | |
Darrell Issa (born 1953) |
Lebanese | Republican | California | January 3, 2001 | present | ||
Charles Boustany (born 1956) |
Lebanese | Republican | Louisiana | January 3, 2005 | January 3, 2017 | Retired to run unsuccessfully for U.S. Senator from Louisiana | |
Justin Amash (born 1980) |
Palestinian, Syrian |
Republican | Michigan | January 3, 2011 | present | ||
Richard L. Hanna (born 1951) |
Lebanese | Republican | New York | January 3, 2011 | January 3, 2017 | Retired | |
Ralph Abraham (born 1954) |
Lebanese | Republican | Louisiana | January 3, 2015 | present | ||
Gwen Graham (born 1963) |
Lebanese | Democratic | Florida | January 3, 2015 | January 3, 2017 | Retired | |
Garret Graves (born 1972) |
Lebanese | Republican | Louisiana | January 3, 2015 | present | ||
Darin LaHood (born 1968) |
Lebanese | Republican | Illinois | September 10, 2015 | present | ||
Charlie Crist (born 1956) |
Lebanese | Democratic | Florida | January 3, 2017 | present | ||
References
- ↑ "Meet Arab American Members in 115th Congress - Arab American Institute". www.aaiusa.org.
- ↑ http://www.aaleadershipcouncil.org/ArabAmericanCandidates.html
- ↑ "Assyrians in Middle America A Historical and Demographic Study of the Chicago Assyrian Community" (PDF). jaas.org. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
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