Lee Hamilton, bipartisan fixture of U.S. foreign affairs policy, proud Hoosier, dies at 94

Lee Hamilton, the southern Indiana Democrat who represented the state’s 9th District in the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years and later served as vice chair of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks on the United States, has died at age 94, according to a report from WFYI.

Hamilton’s career placed an Indiana lawmaker at the center of some of the country’s most sensitive foreign-policy and intelligence debates. In Congress, he chaired both the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Intelligence Committee, roles that made him a key player in oversight of U.S. diplomacy and covert operations. After leaving Congress, he was tapped by President George W. Bush to help lead the bipartisan 9/11 Commission.

After graduating from DePauw University, Hamilton earned his law degree at Indiana University, Bloomington and went into private practice in Columbus, Indiana, before running for Congress as part of the Democratic Party’s landslide of 1964. He took office in January 1965 and remained until 1999.

During his tenure, Hamilton chaired several House committees and task forces. He was widely known as a pragmatic negotiator who worked across party lines. The bipartisan dimension to his service, in addition to his impact on global affairs, was among the reasons that in 2018 Indiana University renamed its School of Global and International Studies the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, to honor Hamilton and fellow Hoosier statesman Richard Lugar, a Republican.

Dean of the school, John Ciorciari, released a statement on Hamilton’s death that says, “His legacy endures in every student who walks through our doors and in every act of service that advances the greater good.”

In June 2019, Hamilton introduced then-Democratic Party presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg at Indiana University Auditorium before a speech on national security. For what Hamilton knew would be a national audience for Buttigieg’s remarks, the proud Hoosier included a rundown of the state’s contributions to the office of president and vice president:

Presidents Benjamin Harrison and William Henry Harrison, of course, were Hoosiers. The greatest of them all, Abraham Lincoln lived in Spencer County, just a few miles from here, during the formative years of his life. Six vice presidents have been Hoosiers, including the current vice president, second only to the state of New York, a much larger state, of course.

Hamilton’s reference to “the current vice president” in 2019 was to Republican Mike Pence, whose hometown is Columbus, Indiana.

Hamilton’s life of public service was recognized with several honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Hamilton was born April 20, 1931, in Daytona Beach, Florida, and raised in Evansville. Standing 6-foot-4, he was a natural on the basketball court, starring in high school and college before turning to law and politics.

Hamilton is survived by a public record that spans more than three decades in Congress and years of post-congressional national service, and by his family, which includes nephew John Hamilton, who served as mayor of Bloomington for eight years from 2016 through 2023.