Daniel Inouye

Daniel Inouye

Daniel Ken "Dan" Inouye (/ɨˈnoʊweɪ/;; born September 7, 1924) is the senior United States Senator from Hawaii, a member of the Democratic Party, and the President pro tempore of the United States Senate making him the highest-ranking Asian American politician in U.S. history. Inouye is the chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations.

A senator since 1963, Inouye is the most senior senator. He is also the second longest serving U.S. Senator in history after Robert Byrd. Inouye has continuously represented Hawaii in the U.S. Congress since it achieved statehood in 1959, serving as Hawaii's first U.S. Representative and later a senator. Inouye was the first Japanese-American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and later the first in the U.S. Senate. At age 88, Inouye is the second-oldest current U.S. senator, after 88 year-old Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey. He is also a World War II Medal of Honor recipient.

If Inouye serves until June 29, 2014, he will become the longest-serving U.S. Senator in history. Inouye has already announced that he plans to run for a record tenth term for senator in 2016, when he will be 92 years old.