George A. Kasem

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 Lebanese American elected to the United States Congress, serving one term from 1959 to 1961.

Early life 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.

Military service 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.

Post-World War II He graduated from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California in 1949, and received his law degree from USC in 1951. Kasem was admitted to the bar and became an attorney in Baldwin Park.

Member of Congress Kasem was elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-sixth Congress (January 3, 1959 – January 3, 1961). He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election to the Eighty-seventh Congress in 1960.