Kasem, George A. (George Albert), 1919-2002

<p>George Albert Kasem (April 6, 1919 – February 11, 2002) was a U.S. Representative from California's 25th congressional district. He was of Lebanese descent and was the first Arab American elected to the United States Congress.</p>

<p>Born in Drumright, Oklahoma, Kasem was the son of Abdullah Kasem and Nabeha (Bader) Kasem. His family moved to Los Angeles, California when he was a boy, and Kasem graduated from John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in 1938. After graduation, Kasem worked as a clerk in a grocery store and became active in the local Retail Clerk's Union.</p>

<p>In 1941, he joined the United States Army Air Forces for World War II. Kasem was trained as a weather observer and forecaster at military schools in Macon, Georgia and Grand Rapids, Michigan. He served in Sudan, Egypt, and Iraq, and remained in the service until being discharged at the end of the war in 1945.</p>

KASEM, George Albert, a Representative from California; born in Drumright, Creek County, Okla., April 6, 1919; graduated from John H. Francis Polytechnic High School, Los Angeles, Calif., 1938; B.S., University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif., 1949; LL.B., University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif., 1951; United States Army Air Force, 1941-1945; lawyer, private practice; elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-sixth Congress (January 3, 1959-January 3, 1961); unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Eighty-seventh Congress in 1960; commissioner, Citrus Municipal Court, West Covina, Calif., 1978-1984; died on February 11, 2002, in West Covina, Calif.