Johnny Isakson
ATLANTA – Former U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson died Sunday aged 76, his family and the foundation he started raising money for Parkinson’s announced announced.
The Cobb County Republican resigned from the Senate in late 2019 due to Parkinson’s and other health issues and was the only Georgian to serve in both houses of Congress and the General Assembly.
“We are grateful for everyone’s prayers as we mourn the loss of our father,” said Isakson’s eldest son, John Isakson.
Isakson was elected to the Senate in 2004 after serving five years in the US House of Representatives, where he succeeded former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Prior to that, he was chairman of the Georgia Board of Education, which was appointed by the then government. Roy Barnes,
Real estate company owner IIsakson was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1976, where he served as a minority leader and was instrumental in building the state’s Republican Party.
Isakson was appointed to the Georgia Senate in 1990 after an unsuccessful governor bid. In 1996 he returned to the Governor’s Mansion, but stayed tight in the Republican primary.
In an era of increasing partisanship in Washington, Isakson was known for reaching out to work with the Democrats. As a member of the House of Representatives, he played a leading role in reforming the No Child Left Behind Education Reform Act in 2001 and improved the law during his tenure in the Senate.
Also in the Senate, Isakson worked as chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee to improve the lot of veterans in the country by advocating legislation to improve health care and other benefits for veterans.
“Georgia has lost a giant, one of its greatest statesmen and a serving leader who is committed to making its state and country better than it found it to be,” said Governor Brian Kemp on Sunday.
“Johnny Isakson … has answered calls to public service many times throughout his career as state lawmaker, minority leader at Georgia House, chairman of the state education committee, congressman, and ultimately senator.
“His work of standing up for our veterans, providing disaster relief to Georgia farmers after Hurricane Michael, and always advocating Georgia’s best interests in the US Senate will live on for generations to come.”
“Senator Isakson was a statesman who served Georgia with honor,” added US Senator Jon Ossoff, D-Ga. “He has put his state and his country above himself and his party, and his great legacy remains.”
After leaving Congress, Isakson founded the Isakson Initiative to raise awareness and funding for research related to neurocognitive diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and related dementia.
The funeral arrangements are shared when they are completed.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a Georgia Press Educational Foundation project.
