WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US Democratic Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, a decorated veteran of World War Two and one of the longest-serving members of Congress, died yesterday at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He was 88.
Inouye, who was chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, died of complications from a respiratory illness, according to a statement issued by his office, which said “Aloha“ was the last word he spoke. Inouye’s death was announced on the Senate floor by Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who hailed him as one of the “greats of this body.” Under Hawaii law, the governor, Democrat Neil Abercrombie, will name a successor to fill Inouye’s seat until a new senator is picked in the 2014 general election.
Because Abercrombie is expected to name a fellow Democrat, Inouye’s death is unlikely to change the balance of power in the 100-member Senate, where Democrats are expected to maintain a 55-45 majority over Republicans.
First elected to Congress as Hawaii’s first full-fledged member of the US House of Representatives, Inouye took office on Aug 21, 1959, the date Hawaii became a state, and he went on to win election to the US Senate in 1962.
