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{{Short description|American lawyer and politician (born 1938)}}
{{For|the rower|Sam Nunn (rower)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Sam Nunn
| image               = Sam Nunn portrait (cropped) (1).jpg
| caption             = Nunn, {{circa}} 2020
| office              = Chair of the [[United States Senate Committee on Armed Services|Senate Armed Services Committee]]
| term_start          = January 3, 1987
| term_end            = January 3, 1995
| predecessor         = [[Barry Goldwater]]
| successor           = [[Strom Thurmond]]
| jr/sr1              = United States Senator
| state1              = [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
| term_start1         = November 8, 1972
| term_end1           = January 3, 1997
| predecessor1        = [[David H. Gambrell|David Gambrell]]
| successor1          = [[Max Cleland]]
| office2             = {{br list | Member of the [[Georgia House of Representatives]] | from the 41st district, Post 1}}
| term_start2         = January 13, 1969
| term_end2           = November 8, 1972
| predecessor2        = Glenn Phillips
| successor2          = Guy Hill
| birth_name          = Samuel Augustus Nunn Jr.
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1938|09|08}}
| birth_place         = [[Macon, Georgia]], U.S.
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse              = {{Marriage|Colleen O'Brien|1965}}
| children            = 2, including [[Michelle Nunn|Michelle]]
| education           = {{ubl
  | {{nowrap|[[Georgia Institute of Technology]]}}
  | [[Emory University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])
  }}
| allegiance          = {{flag|United States}}
| branch              = {{flag|United States Coast Guard}}
| serviceyears        = 1959–1968
| unit                = [[United States Coast Guard Reserve]]
|module      = {{Listen
|pos         = center
|embed       = yes
|filename    = Sen. Sam Nunn on ADM Frank Kelso's Accountability for Tailhook.ogg
|title       = Nunn's voice
|type        = speech
|description = {{br list | 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 [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] from [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] (1972–1997) as a member of the [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic Party]].

After leaving Congress, Nunn co-founded the [[Nuclear Threat Initiative]] (NTI), a nonprofit, nonpartisan global security organization focused on reducing [[Nuclear weapons|nuclear]], [[Biological weapons|biological]], and [[Emerging technologies|emerging technology]] threats imperiling humanity, for which he is the co-chair. His political experience and credentials on [[defense (military)|national defense]] reportedly earned him consideration as a potential running mate for presidential candidates [[John Kerry]] and [[Barack Obama]] after they became their party's nominees.<ref>Harris, John F. (2008-08-19). [http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12652.html "Nader predicts Obama to pick Clinton"], [[Politico]].com</ref>

==Early life==
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]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/263515521 |work=[[St. Petersburg Times]] |title=OBITUARIES [NATIONAL] Series: OBITUARIES |date=August 12, 2000 | access-date= July 7, 2017 | archive-date= September 25, 2017 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170925232446/https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/tampabay/doc/263515521.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug%2012%2C%202000&author=&pub=St.%20Petersburg%20Times&edition=&startpage=&desc=OBITUARIES%20&#91;NATIONAL&#93;%20Series%3A%20OBITUARIES |id={{ProQuest|263515521}} | url-status= live}}</ref> Nunn was raised in Perry. He is a grandnephew of [[United States House of Representatives|Congressman]] [[Carl Vinson]].

Nunn was an [[Eagle Scout rank (Boy Scouts of America)|Eagle Scout]] and recipient of the [[Distinguished Eagle Scout Award]] from the [[Boy Scouts of America]].<ref name="honor">{{cite book |last=Townley |first=Alvin |date=2006-12-26 |url=http://www.thomasdunnebooks.com/TD_TitleDetail.aspx?ISBN=0312366531 |title=Legacy of Honor: The Values and Influence of America's Eagle Scouts |publisher=St. Martin's Press |location=New York |pages=121–122 |isbn=0-312-36653-1 | access-date = 2006-12-29 | archive-date = 2008-09-24 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080924165201/http://www.thomasdunnebooks.com/TD_TitleDetail.aspx?ISBN=0312366531 | url-status = dead}}</ref><ref name="desalista">{{cite web |url=http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/02-529.pdf |title=Distinguished Eagle Scouts |work=Scouting.org |access-date = 2010-11-04 |archive-date = 2016-03-12 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160312002744/http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/02-529.pdf |url-status = dead}}</ref> In high school, Nunn was a standout athlete, captaining the school's basketball team to the state championship.<ref>''The New York Times'', January 4, 1987.</ref>

Nunn attended [[Georgia Institute of Technology|Georgia Tech]] in 1956,<ref name="tech">{{cite news |url=http://gtalumni.org/StayInformed/magazine/spr90/nunn.html |title=A Conversation With Sam Nunn |work=Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine |publisher=Georgia Tech Alumni Association |date=Spring 1990|access-date=2007-03-06 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051028044716/http://gtalumni.org/StayInformed/magazine/spr90/nunn.html |archive-date = October 28, 2005}}</ref> where he was initiated as a brother of [[Phi Delta Theta]]. He transferred to [[Emory University]] in 1959 and received his undergraduate degree in 1961.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sam Nunn {{!}} United States senator {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sam-Nunn |access-date=2022-07-26 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> He then received a degree from the [[Emory University School of Law]] in 1962.<ref name="tech"/>

==Early career ==
After active-duty service in the [[United States Coast Guard]], he served six years in the [[United States Coast Guard Reserve|U.S. Coast Guard Reserve]] and attained the rank of petty officer.<ref>Lagan, Christopher. [https://coastguard.dodlive.mil/2014/09/honor-respect-devotion-to-duty-senator-sam-nunn/ "Honor, Respect, Devotion to Duty: Senator Sam Nunn"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411072510/https://coastguard.dodlive.mil/2014/09/honor-respect-devotion-to-duty-senator-sam-nunn/ |date=2021-04-11 }}, ''Coast Guard Compass'', September 26, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2020.</ref> He was also a Congressional staff member.

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

==Political career==
Nunn first entered politics as a member of the [[Georgia House of Representatives]] in 1968.<ref name="tech"/> He was elected to the [[United States Senate]] [[1972 United States Senate election in Georgia|in 1972]], defeating appointed U.S. senator [[David H. Gambrell]] in the Democratic [[Partisan primary|primary]] and U.S. Rep. [[Fletcher Thompson]] in the [[1972 United States Senate election|general election]]. Nunn retired from the Senate in 1997, offering a lack of "zest and enthusiasm" as justification.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sack |first=Kevin |title=Nunn, Model Southern Democrat, To Retire From Senate Next Year |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 10, 1995 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0CE4DD1339F933A25753C1A963958260| access-date= 2007-12-31}}</ref>

During his tenure in the U.S. Senate, Nunn served as the chairman of the [[U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services]] and the [[Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations]]. He also served on the [[United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence|Intelligence]] and [[Small Business Committee]]s. His legislative achievements include the landmark [[Goldwater-Nichols Act|Department of Defense Reorganization Act]], drafted with the late senator [[Barry Goldwater]], and the [[Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction]] Program,<ref name="honor"/> which provided assistance to Russia and the former Soviet republics for securing and destroying their excess nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}

The [[Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction]] program deactivated more than 7,600 nuclear [[warhead]]s. He was supposedly the "top choice" to be [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]] or [[United States Secretary of State|State]] in 1992 and 1996 and in a prospective [[Al Gore|Gore]] cabinet in 2000.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}

Overall, Nunn was a [[New Democrats (United States)|moderate]]-to-[[Conservative Democrat|conservative]] Democrat<ref>[http://www.bookrags.com/Sam_Nunn Encyclopedia of World Biography on Sam Nunn], BookRags.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-25</ref> who often broke with his party on a host of [[social policy|social]] and [[economic policy|economic issues]]. He opposed the budget bill of 1993, which included provisions to raise taxes to reduce the [[budget deficit]]. He neither supported nor opposed [[Hillary Clinton]]'s attempt to establish universal health care, though he spoke out very strongly against the proposed insurance mandate.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}

Nunn actively worked to block President [[Bill Clinton]]'s proposal to allow homosexuals to [[Don't ask, don't tell|serve openly in the military]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00617FD385E0C7A8DDDA00894DB494D8 |title=A Retreat on Gay Soldiers |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1993-09-19|access-date=2007-03-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Martin |last=Kasindorf |url=http://tech.mit.edu/V113/N16/nunn.16w.html |title=A Plan for Military Gays; Nunn would keep them 'in the closet' |work=[[Newsday]] |date=1993-03-30|access-date=2007-03-10|archive-date=2022-02-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215095902/http://tech.mit.edu/V113/N16/nunn.16w.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/12/david-mixner-clinton-campaign-advisor-dies-00146576 |title=David Mixner, LGBTQ+ activist and Bill Clinton campaign adviser, dies at 77 |publisher=Associated Press |date=March 12, 2024 |accessdate=March 12, 2024}}</ref>

In 2008, Nunn endorsed a new [[The Pentagon|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."<ref>[http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/politicalinsider/entries/2008/06/03/says_nunn_it_might_be_time_to.html Says Nunn: It might be time to take another look at 'don't ask, don't tell'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120110221531/http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/politicalinsider/entries/2008/06/03/says_nunn_it_might_be_time_to.html |date=2012-01-10 }}, ajc.com; accessed February 27, 2017.</ref>

According to opensecrets.org, Sam Nunn received about $2.4&nbsp;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.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040522185244/http://www.opensecrets.org/1994os/osdata/nunnsam.pdf Profile], opensecrets.org; accessed February 27, 2017.</ref>

He voted in favor of [[school prayer]], capping punitive damage awards, amending the [[U.S. Constitution]] to require a [[balanced budget]], and limiting death penalty appeals. On certain issues like abortion, the [[Natural environment|environment]], [[gun control]], and [[affirmative action]], Nunn took a more liberal line. He consistently voted in favor of increased immigration.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20020717113232/http://profiles.numbersusa.com/improfile.php3?DistSend=GA&VIPID=207 Immigration profile of:Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Georgia)], NumbersUSA.com; retrieved October 25, 2007.</ref> One of his most controversial votes was his vote against the [[Gulf War]].<ref>[http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1389 Government & Politics:Sam Nunn] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514113508/http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1389 |date=2013-05-14 }}, The New Georgia Encyclopedia; retrieved October 25, 2007.</ref>

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, the delegation wanted 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cartercenter.org/news/documents/doc218.html |title=President Carter Leads Delegation to Negotiate Peace With Haiti |work=cartercenter.org|access-date=February 27, 2017}}</ref>

Upon his exit from the Senate at the end of 1996, Nunn was the recipient of bipartisan praise from his colleagues. [[Republican Party (United States)|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."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gpoaccess.gov/crecord/index.html |title=Congressional Record: Main Page |website=www.gpoaccess.gov |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030406080226/http://www.gpoaccess.gov/crecord/index.html |archive-date=6 April 2003 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Post-Congressional life==
[[File:SamNunnMicrophone2007.jpg|right|thumb|Nunn in 2007]]
[[File:160509-D-DT527-301 (26644078720).jpg|thumb|right|Nunn with [[Richard Lugar]] and [[Ash Carter]] in 2016]]

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

In addition to his work with the [[Nuclear Threat Initiative]], Nunn continues his service in the [[policy|public policy]] arena as a distinguished professor in the [[Sam Nunn School of International Affairs]] at [[Georgia Institute of Technology|Georgia Tech]]. There, he hosted the biennial Sam Nunn Policy Forum, a policy meeting that brings together noted academic, government, and private-sector experts on technology, public policy, and international affairs to address issues of immediate importance to the nation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.inta.gatech.edu/sam-nunn-forum/ |title=The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs |publisher=Georgia Institute of Technology |website=inta.gatech.edu | access-date= February 27, 2017 | url-status= dead | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080518101634/http://www.inta.gatech.edu/sam-nunn-forum/ | archive-date= May 18, 2008}}</ref>

Nunn was an active advisory board member for the [[Partnership for a Secure America]], a [[not-for-profit organization]] dedicated to recreating the bipartisan center in American national security and foreign policy. He signed a number of the organization's bipartisan policy statements on important issues ranging from [[climate change]] to enhanced interrogation practices and [[nonproliferation]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.psaonline.org/category/publications/ |website=PSAonline.org |title=Bipartisan Policy Statements |access-date=2017-02-27 |archive-date=2016-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924121416/http://www.psaonline.org/category/publications/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Additionally, Nunn is 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.csis.org/cohen-nunn |title=Cohen-Nunn Dialogues |work=csis.org |access-date=February 27, 2017 |archive-date=June 20, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620172216/http://www.csis.org/cohen-nunn/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Nunn is a retired partner in the law firm of [[King & Spalding]]. He also 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.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2005-09-26 |title=Rain and Fire |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/10/03/rain-and-fire |access-date=2022-07-26 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US}}</ref> He gave a full presentation outlining his goals at the [[Commonwealth Club of California]].

Nunn—along with [[William J. Perry|William Perry]], [[Henry Kissinger]], and [[George Shultz]]—called upon governments to embrace the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons, and in five ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' [[op-ed]]s proposed an ambitious program of urgent steps to the vision. The four created the Nuclear Security Project to advance this agenda. Nunn reinforced that agenda during a speech at the [[Harvard Kennedy School]] on October 21, 2008, saying, "I'm much more concerned about a terrorist without a return address that cannot be deterred than I am about deliberate war between nuclear powers. You can't deter a group who is willing to commit suicide. We are in a different era. You have to understand the world has changed."<ref>{{cite web |last=Maclin |first=Beth |date=2008-10-20 |url=http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/18606/ |title=A Nuclear weapon-free world is possible, Nunn says |publisher=Belfer Center, Harvard University| access-date= October 21, 2008}}</ref>

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|date=February 2017}}

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 was on the Board of Advisors for the [[National Bureau of Asian Research]], a non-profit, nonpartisan research institution.<ref>[http://www.nbr.org/About/boa.aspx NBR Board of Advisors] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823095630/http://www.nbr.org/about/boa.aspx |date=2018-08-23 }}; accessed February 27, 2017.</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-g8-usa-russia-nuclear-idUSBRE95H00720130618 |title=Obama, Putin to sign new deal on reducing nuclear threat |publisher=Reuters |date=Jun 17, 2013|access-date=July 2, 2013}}</ref>

Nunn also was a member the Board of Curators for the [[Georgia Historical Society]]. He also was an advisory board member of [[Theranos]], a fraudulent biotech company.<ref>{{cite web |title=A singular board at Theranos |work=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]] |date=June 12, 2014 |url=http://fortune.com/2014/06/12/theranos-board-directors| access-date= 2015-10-12}}</ref>

Several books have been written about the life and career of Sam Nunn. "The Best President the Nation Never Had: A Memoir of Working with Sam Nunn" was written in 2017 by his former Chief of Staff, Roland McElroy, and details Nunn's early years as a candidate for Senate.<ref>{{cite book |last=McElroy |first=Roland |title=The Best President the Nation Never Had: A Memoir of Working with Sam Nunn |url=https://www.mupress.org/The-Best-President-the-Nation-Never-Had-A-Memoir-of-Working-with-Sam-Nunn-P946.aspx |publisher=Mercer University Press |year=2017 |isbn=9780881466287 |location=Macon, Georgia |pages=242 |access-date=29 October 2024}}</ref> "Sam Nunn: Statesman of the Nuclear Age", by Frank Leith Jones, takes a more comprehensive look at Nunn's four-term Senate career, focusing on his accomplishments in nuclear and national security policy. <ref>{{cite book |last=Jones |first=Frank Leith |title=Sam Nunn: Statesman of the Nuclear Age |url=https://kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700633173/ |publisher=University Press of Kansas |year=2021 |isbn=9780700633173 |location=Lawrence, Kansas |pages=448 |access-date=29 October 2024}}</ref>

In 2019, the US Navy announced that an [[Arleigh Burke-class destroyer| Arleigh Burke-class Missile Destroyer]] will be named the [[USS Sam Nunn]].
==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.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Galloway |first=Jim |title=Former Sen. Sam Nunn Weighs Run for White House |newspaper=[[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]] |date=19 August 2007 |url=http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/08/18/nunn_0819_1.html}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> However, speculation over a Nunn White House bid ended on April 18, 2008, when he endorsed Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Sam Nunn lines up behind Barack Obama as best equipped to stop political 'demonizing, dumbing down' |newspaper=[[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]] |date=April 18, 2008 |url=http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/shared-blogs/ajc/politicalinsider/entries/2008/04/18/sam_nunn_lines_up_behind_barac.html| access-date= February 27, 2017}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |last=Peterson |first=Larry |url=http://savannahnow.com/node/471638 |title=How about an Obama-Nunn ticket |website=savannahnow.com |date=March 30, 2008| access-date= April 29, 2008| url-status= dead| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080509124859/http://savannahnow.com/node/471638| archive-date= May 9, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Alexander |last=Mooney |url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/05/21/carter-obama-clinton-ticket-unlikely |title=Carter: Obama-Clinton ticket unlikely |website=blogs.cnn.com |date=May 21, 2008 |access-date=May 21, 2008 |archive-date=May 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528215742/http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/05/21/carter-obama-clinton-ticket-unlikely/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Brooks |first=David |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/opinion/27brooks.html |title=The Running Mate Choice |work=The New York Times |date=May 29, 2008| access-date= May 21, 2008}}</ref>

In an interview published on 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jun/04/uselections2008 |work=The Guardian |location=London |title=US elections: Jimmy Carter tells Barack Obama not to pick Hillary Clinton as running mate |first=Jonathan |last=Freedland |date=June 4, 2008|access-date=May 23, 2010}}</ref> 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|date=February 2017}}

==Personal life==
Nunn is married to the former Colleen O'Brien. Nunn met his future wife at the [[Embassy of the United States in Paris|U.S. Embassy in Paris]] while she was working for the [[Central Intelligence Agency]]. They have two children, [[Michelle Nunn|Mary Michelle Nunn]] and Samuel Brian Nunn.<ref>[http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/07/12/nunn_0713.html Has Sam Nunn's time for VP spot arrived?], ajc.com, July 12, 2008.</ref> Michelle Nunn is CEO of [[Points of Light]] and CEO of [[CARE (relief agency)|CARE]], she [[United States Senate election in Georgia, 2014|ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2014]].<ref name="ajc-announ">{{cite news |title=Michelle Nunn declares herself a U.S. Senate candidate |url=http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/political-insider/2013/jul/22/michelle-nunn-declares-herself-us-senate-candidate |first=Jim |last=Galloway |newspaper=[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]] |date=July 22, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140425141326/http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/political-insider/2013/jul/22/michelle-nunn-declares-herself-us-senate-candidate/|archive-date=April 25, 2014}}</ref>

According to the [[Lee Iacocca]] book, ''[[Talking Straight]]'' (1988), [[Chrysler Corporation]] came under scrutiny for selling new vehicles which were driven by company executives before the odometers were connected. Iacocca, Chrysler's CEO, was not concerned about the scandal at first but, within days of a meeting with Nunn in 1987 in which Nunn spoke of his own recently purchased [[Chrysler Fifth Avenue]], Iacocca launched a detailed investigation into the claims, and extended warranties – and public apologies – to numerous current Chrysler owners.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Iacocca |first1=Lee A. |last2=Kleinfield |first2=Sonny |author-link1=Lee Iacocca |date=1989 |title=Talking Straight |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lbTSQzhUsOAC |location=New York |publisher=[[Bantam Books]] |page=127 |isbn=9780553278057}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AT&p_theme=at&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB7C3BCE9210D40&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |title=Nunn Admits Being Drunk In '64 Crash |work=[[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]] |via=newsbank.com| access-date= July 22, 2008}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9900EFD71638F93BA1575AC0A9649C8B63 |title=GOLF; Women's Group Lobbies Seven of Augusta's Members |first=Richard |last=Sandomir |date=September 28, 2002 |work=The New York Times| access-date= February 27, 2017}}</ref>

Nunn is a Freemason.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-02-08 |title=Supreme Temple Architects Hall of Honor |url=http://srmason-sj.org/web/temple-files/hall-of-honor/hallofhonor.html |access-date=2023-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208193922/http://srmason-sj.org/web/temple-files/hall-of-honor/hallofhonor.html |archive-date=2009-02-08}}</ref>

==Awards and honors==
{{Incomplete list|date=August 2013}}
[[File:21-11-022-nunn.jpg|thumb|right|Painting of Nunn at the [[Museum of Aviation (Warner Robins)|Museum of Aviation]]]]

* In 1990, the Georgia Institute of Technology renamed its international affairs department into 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 the [[Jefferson Awards for Public Service|Jefferson Awards]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jeffersonawards.org/pastwinners/national |title=National – Jefferson Awards |work=JeffersonAwards.org|access-date=2013-08-05|archive-date=2010-11-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124043935/http://jeffersonawards.org/pastwinners/national|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* In 2004, Nunn and Lugar were jointly awarded the [[Heinz Award]]s Chairman's Medal for their efforts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.heinzawards.net/recipients/richard-lugar-sam-nunn |title=The Heinz Awards :: Richard Lugar + Sam Nunn |work=heinzawards.net}}</ref>
* He got an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from [[Oglethorpe University]] in 2006<ref>{{cite web |title=Honorary Degrees Awarded by Oglethorpe University |publisher=Oglethorpe University |url=http://www.oglethorpe.edu/about_us/history/honorary_degrees.asp| access-date= 2015-03-04|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319104000/http://www.oglethorpe.edu/about_us/history/honorary_degrees.asp| archive-date= 2015-03-19}}</ref>
* He was awarded the Hessian Peace Prize in 2008 for his commitment on nuclear disarmament and for combating nuclear terrorism.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hsfk.de/index.php?id=66&L=1 |title=Hessian Peace Prize |author=LUKA netconsult GmbH |work=hsfk.de}}</ref>
* 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 [[Trustee Georgia|Trustees]], which governed the Georgia colony from 1732 to 1752.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.georgiatrend.com/February-2011/Georgias-New-Trustees/ |title=Georgia's New Trustees |work=georgiatrend.com |date=February 2011}}</ref>
* 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]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iac.gatech.edu/news-and-events/annual-founders-day/ivan-allen-jr-prize-recipients |title=Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Progress and Service – Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts |work=gatech.edu|access-date=2012-10-11|archive-date=2012-01-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121134541/http://www.iac.gatech.edu/news-and-events/annual-founders-day/ivan-allen-jr-prize-recipients|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* 2013 Knight Commander of the Order of Merit of the [[Federal Republic of Germany]]<ref>{{cite web |first=Mike |last=Lingenfelser |title=Ein Verdienstkreuz am Rande |language=de| trans-title= A Cross of Merit on the Edge|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130208020824/http://www.br.de/nachrichten/siko-westerwelle-erdienstkreuz-100.html |work=[[Bayerischer Rundfunk]] |url=http://www.br.de/nachrichten/siko-westerwelle-erdienstkreuz-100.html | archive-date= February 8, 2013| access-date= March 5, 2018}}</ref>
* [[Lone Sailor Award]] by the U.S. Navy Veterans Memorial in September 2014<ref>{{cite news |title=Sam Nunn to be honored by Navy Memorial |url=http://www.navytimes.com/article/20140904/NEWS05/309040036/Sam-Nunn-honored-by-Navy-Memorial|access-date=13 October 2014 |work=Navy Times |date=4 September 2014}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Anti-nuclear movement]]
* [[International Conference on Nuclear Disarmament]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book |last=McElroy |first=Roland |date=2017 |title=The Best President the Nation Never Had: A Memoir of Working with Sam Nunn |location=Macon, GA |publisher=Mercer University Press |isbn=9780881466287 |oclc=994371337}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikisource author}}
* [http://alsos.wlu.edu/qsearch.aspx?browse=people/Nunn,+Sam Annotated Bibliography for Sam Nunn from the ALsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505022346/http://alsos.wlu.edu/qsearch.aspx?browse=people%2FNunn%2C+Sam |date=2010-05-05 }}
* [http://csis.org/expert/sam-nunn Sam Nunn, Chairman Board of Directors CSIS]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111117185111/http://www.nti.org/b_aboutnti/b1b.html Sam Nunn, NTI Board of Directors]
<!--* {{CongLinks | congbio=N000171 | votesmart= | fec= | congress= }}
Links formerly displayed via the CongLinks template:
* [http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Sam_Nunn.htm Issue positions and quotes] at [[On the Issues]] -->
* {{C-SPAN|1554}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051204040724/http://www.commonwealthclub.org/archive/05/05-07nunn-audio.html Sam Nunn at the Commonwealth Club]
* [http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/f3wtn Sam Nunn Papers] at the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
* [https://www.afsa.org/sites/default/files/flipping_book/0909/index.html#/42/ Foreign Service Journal article on his Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award.]

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