Lindsey Graham, the longtime South Carolina senator whose rise from a blue-collar background to the heart of Republican politics made him one of the party’s most recognisable figures, died on Saturday.
The 71-year-old was a key ally of US president Donald Trump and one of the most influential conservative voices in Congress.
The news of his death was announced on his official X account, with his office attributing it to a “brief and sudden illness”.
From a small South Carolina town to Washington
Born and raised in the small town of Central in South Carolina, Graham came from a working-class family. His parents operated a restaurant and pool hall, and he often spoke about the values he learned while growing up in a blue-collar household, a biography on his official website said.
Graham was the first member of his family to attend college. He went on to earn both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of South Carolina.
He later settled in Seneca and remained an active member of Corinth Baptist Church.
Political career
Graham entered national politics in 1994 when he was elected to the US House of Representatives. His victory was historic, making him the first Republican elected from South Carolina’s Third Congressional District since 1877.
In 2002, he won election to the US Senate, beginning a career that would span more than two decades.
He returned to office again in 2008, 2014 and 2020, cementing his position as one of the state’s most prominent political figures.
However, a major milestone came in 2008, when Graham became the first candidate in South Carolina’s history to receive more than one million votes in a general election.
At the time of his death, Graham served as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. He was also a member of several influential panels, including the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Throughout his Senate career, Graham built a reputation as a conservative dealmaker firmly committed to Republican priorities. He frequently made headlines for his outspoken views and was often at the centre of controversy over remarks on a range of issues, from trade tariffs to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
US military links
Before entering Congress, Graham built a long career in the US military. A trained Air Force lawyer, he spent six-and-a-half years on active duty, including a posting at Rhein-Main Air Force Base in Germany between 1984 and 1988.
After leaving active duty in 1989, he joined the South Carolina Air National Guard, where he served until 1995.
During the first Gulf War, he was recalled to active duty and worked as Staff Judge Advocate at McEntire Air National Guard Base, helping prepare service members for deployment to the Gulf region.
He also frequented short-term assignmen during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. After 33 years in uniform, Graham retired from the Air Force Reserve in June 2015 with the rank of Colonel.
His death marks the end of a political career that took him from a small-town upbringing in South Carolina to America’s highest levels of politics.
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