Johnny Isakson

Johnny Isakson
Official portrait, 2014
United States Senator from Georgia
In office January 3, 2005 – December 31, 2019
Preceded by	Zell Miller
Succeeded by	Kelly Loeffler
Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee
In office January 3, 2015 – December 19, 2019
Preceded by	Bernie Sanders
Succeeded by	Jerry Moran
Chair of the Senate Ethics Committee
In office January 3, 2015 – December 19, 2019
Preceded by	Barbara Boxer
Succeeded by	James Lankford
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 6th district
In office February 23, 1999 – January 3, 2005
Preceded by	Newt Gingrich
Succeeded by	Tom Price
Member of the Georgia State Senate from the 21st district
In office January 11, 1993 – January 6, 1997
Preceded by	William F. English[1]
Succeeded by	Robert Lamutt[2]
Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives
In office January 10, 1983 – January 11, 1991
Preceded by	Herbert Jones Jr.
Succeeded by	Paul Heard
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from Cobb County
In office January 10, 1977 – January 11, 1991
Preceded by	Charles W. Edwards
Succeeded by	Lynda Coker
Constituency	20-Post 1 (1977–1983) 21-Post 2 (1983–1991)
Personal details
Born	John Hardy Isakson (1944-12-28)December 28, 1944 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Died	December 19, 2021(2021-12-19) (aged 76) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Dianne Davison ​ (m. 1968)​
Children	3
Education	University of Georgia (BBA)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Air Force
Years of service	1966–1972
Rank	Staff Sergeant
Unit	Georgia Air National Guard
Johnny Isakson's voice Isakson gives farewell remarks for retiring Senator Thad Cochran Recorded March 22, 2018

John Hardy Isakson (December 28, 1944 – December 19, 2021) was an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 2005 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Georgia legislature and the United States House of Representatives.

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Isakson served in the Georgia Air National Guard (1966–1972) and graduated from the University of Georgia. He opened a real estate branch for Northside Realty and later served 22 years as the company's president. After a failed bid for the Georgia House of Representatives in 1974, he was elected in 1976. He served seven terms, including four as minority leader. Isakson was the Republican candidate for governor of Georgia in 1990, but lost. Two years later, he was elected to the Georgia Senate and served one term. He unsuccessfully ran in the Republican primary in the 1996 U.S. Senate election.

After 6th District Congressman and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich resigned, Isakson ran in the February 1999 special election to succeed him, winning by a 40-point margin. He ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004 after Democratic incumbent Zell Miller opted not to run for re-election. With the backing of much of Georgia's Republican establishment, he won both the primary and general elections by wide margins. He became the senior senator from Georgia when Saxby Chambliss retired in 2015. On December 31, 2019, midway through his third Senate term, Isakson resigned from the Senate due to health concerns and was succeeded by fellow Republican Kelly Loeffler who was appointed by Brian Kemp, the Republican Governor of Georgia, to fill the vacant seat. He died two years later on December 19, 2021.