Former Senator Jim Inhofe(US) with President Kagame
Rwandan President Paul Kagame mourns the passing of former Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK). For nearly three decades, Inhofe served as a U.S. senator to Oklahoma before retiring in 2023. A pilot himself, Inhofe was a dedicated public servant who championed legislation supporting the general aviation community.
“My deepest condolences to Senator Jim Inhofe’s family and his loved ones. From his first visit to Africa more than 25 years ago, and the dozens that followed, Jim was a singular friend of our continent, and of Rwanda in particular”, President said via X.
“ The bonds that Jim fostered between Africa and the United States will remain central to his legacy as a statesman and public servant” President Kagame added in his message.
Former Senator James M. Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican who chaired the Senate Armed Services Committee near the end of his 57 years in politics, died July 9 as a result of a stroke he suffered July 4. He was 89.
He served in Oklahoma’s house of representatives from 1966 to 1969, then the Oklahoma Senate from 1969 to 1977. In 1973, while a state senator, he earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Tulsa. The following year, he ran unsuccessfully for the Oklahoma governor’s seat.
In 1976, Inhofe ran unsuccessfully again, this time for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Two years later, he was elected mayor of Tulsa, serving there until 1984.
Inhofe’s second bid for a seat in Congress was successful, and he represented Oklahoma’s 1st district from 1987 to 1994. That year, he was elected to the U.S. Senate where he became an institution, serving 29 years unti retiring in 2023 having become Oklahoma’s longest-serving U.S. Senator.
Inhofe held a private pilot’s license and often advocated for pilot issues and aviation modernization. (End)