Congressman (D-IN) 1965-1999

Lee H. Hamilton (April 20, 1931 – February 3, 2026) was an American politician, lawyer, and widely respected voice in Congress, foreign policy, and national security. A Democrat from Indiana, he represented the state’s 9th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1965 to 1999, winning re‑election 16 times in a largely Republican region.

Hamilton built a reputation as a moderate, pragmatic legislator who worked across the aisle and prioritized constituent service, securing federal funding for reservoirs, schools, infrastructure, and economic development projects in his district. Over his 34‑year tenure he served on numerous committees, including Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, the Joint Economic Committee, and the Joint Committee on Printing, eventually chairing Foreign Affairs and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

He gained national prominence as chairman of the House Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran (the Iran‑Contra investigation) and as a key figure on several commissions examining U.S. intelligence and security practices. After leaving Congress, he co‑chaired the United States Commission on National Security in the 21st Century (Hart‑Rudman Commission) and later served as vice chairman of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (the 9/11 Commission), helping shape post‑9/11 reforms.

Hamilton was also a founding co‑chair of Partnership for a Secure America, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to rebuilding bipartisan consensus on U.S. national security and foreign policy. Following his congressional career, he directed the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and founded the Center on Congress (later the Center on Representative Government) at Indiana University, where he had earned his law degree in 1956. He remained an influential advocate for bipartisanship, democratic institutions, and thoughtful foreign‑policy debate, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 by President Barack Obama.