Rudman, Warren B. (Warren Bruce), 1930-2012

Warren Bruce Rudman (May 18, 1930 – November 19, 2012) was an American attorney and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Attorney General of New Hampshire from 1970 to 1976 and as a U.S. Senator from New Hampshire between 1980 and 1993.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, he grew up in Nashua, New Hampshire, attending the public schools there before graduating from Valley Forge Military School and Syracuse University. After serving in the United States Army during the Korean War, Rudman earned a law degree from Boston College Law School, entering private practice in Nashua thereafter. He briefly served as legal counsel to New Hampshire Governor Walter Peterson in 1970 before Peterson appointed him Attorney General of New Hampshire. Rudman served in this role through 1976, when he resumed practicing law. Riding the wave of Ronald Reagan's landslide victory, Rudman defeated incumbent John Durkin for a seat in the U.S. Senate in the 1980 election.

A moderate Republican, Rudman was conservative on matters of fiscal and defense policy—favoring tax cuts, reduced domestic spending, and higher military spending, but liberal on social issues—supporting a woman's right to choose to have an abortion, gay rights, and opposing a constitutional amendment mandating voluntary school prayer. Rudman, along with John H. Sununu, was a key player in the appointment of Rudman's personal friend, Supreme Court Justice David Souter, to both the First Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. After two terms in office, Rudman chose not to run for re-election in 1992.

After leaving the Senate, Rudman was twice considered as a possible vice presidential candidate on the ticket of two parties other than the GOP. In 1996, Ross Perot offered Rudman the slot to be his vice presidential running mate on the Reform Party ticket, but Rudman refused. In 2004, Rudman was mentioned as possible running mate for Democratic nominee John Kerry. He was a co-chair, along with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger, of Albright Stonebridge Group, a global business consulting and strategy firm based in Washington, D.C. He died of cancer in Washington and was inurned in Arlington National Cemetery.