Representative Don Fuqua

John Donald “Don” Fuqua (born August 20, 1933) is an American politician from Florida who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1963 to 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented his constituents in the House for 12 consecutive terms during a significant period in American history, contributing to the legislative process over nearly a quarter century. Since the death of Merwin Coad in September 2025, Fuqua has been one of the two earliest-serving living members of the House of Representatives, as well as one of the two last living former members from either chamber of the United States Congress who served during the presidency of John F. Kennedy, alongside Alec G. Olson of Minnesota, with both having been first elected in 1962.

Fuqua was born in Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida, on August 20, 1933, the son of John D. and Lucille Fuqua. He grew up in Florida with two brothers and was educated in the state’s public schools. He attended the University of Florida at Gainesville beginning in 1951 and pursued his undergraduate studies there from 1951 to 1953 before his education was interrupted by military service. After his return from service, he resumed his studies at the University of Florida and completed his degree in 1957, maintaining a long association with Gainesville that would continue throughout his life.

During and after the Korean War, Fuqua served in Korea with the United States Army Medical Corps. His military service, which coincided with a critical period of Cold War tensions in East Asia, provided him with firsthand experience of the needs of service members and the practical demands of military medicine. This background informed his later interest in national defense, veterans’ issues, and the broader implications of American foreign and security policy, even as he turned increasingly toward legislative work and public service in Florida.

Following his graduation from the University of Florida, Fuqua entered state politics. He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1958 and served there until 1962. In the Florida legislature he began to build a reputation as a diligent and attentive lawmaker, gaining experience in the legislative process and establishing political ties across his largely rural North Florida constituency. His service in the state House provided the foundation for his subsequent bid for national office and introduced him to the policy areas—particularly agriculture, infrastructure, and education—that would remain important throughout his congressional career.

Fuqua was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives from Florida in 1962 and took office on January 3, 1963. He served continuously in the House from January 3, 1963, to January 3, 1987, representing a district that encompassed much of the Florida Panhandle and North Florida. Over his 12 terms in Congress, he participated actively in the democratic process, working on legislation affecting science and technology, agriculture, defense, and regional development. During most of his congressional career, his legal residence was a farm near Altha in Calhoun County, Florida, where he became a dairy farmer, maintaining close ties to the agricultural communities he represented and grounding his legislative priorities in the concerns of his rural constituents.

Within the House, Fuqua rose to positions of significant responsibility. He became chairman of the United States House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, a key panel with jurisdiction over the nation’s civilian space program, scientific research policy, and many aspects of technological development. In that role he was closely involved with oversight of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and other federal science agencies during an era marked by the post-Apollo evolution of the space program, the Space Shuttle era, and expanding federal investment in research and development. His leadership on this committee placed him at the center of congressional deliberations on America’s scientific and technological competitiveness during the late Cold War.

Fuqua’s long tenure also intersected with major civil rights and social policy debates. He is the last living person who voted against the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. He later stated that he cast his vote against the measure because he anticipated being challenged by a segregationist candidate in the 1964 elections, a reflection of the political pressures facing Southern and border-state Democrats during that period of intense social change. His vote placed him among a group of Southern legislators who opposed the bill, even as the national Democratic Party moved increasingly toward support for civil rights legislation.

After choosing not to seek reelection and leaving Congress at the conclusion of his term on January 3, 1987, Fuqua moved into the private sector while remaining closely connected to the fields he had overseen as a legislator. He became president of the Aerospace Industries Association, representing major aerospace and defense manufacturers and working on issues related to federal procurement, research and development, and the regulatory environment for aerospace companies. In this capacity he drew on his extensive experience with the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and his longstanding interest in the aerospace sector. In later years he continued to reside in Florida, living in Gainesville and maintaining his ties to the University of Florida and to the communities he had represented during his long public career.