Duncan Lee Hunter (born May 31, 1948), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1981, representing the 52nd Congressional District of California (map) in northern and eastern San Diego County. He is chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Armed Services.
Hunter was born in Riverside, California. He briefly attended the University of Montana and the University of California, Santa Barbara before enlisting in the United States Army. He served in the Vietnam War in the 173rd Airborne Brigade and the 75th Army Rangers. After returning, he enrolled at Western State University College of Law and earned a BSL and JD in 1976, thereafter working as a plaintiff's attorney.
In 1980 he was recruited to run for Congress and defeated the 18-year incumbent, Democrat Lionel Van Deerlin. Representing a district dominated by military bases and personnel, he sought and was granted a seat on the Armed Services Committee. He became chairman of the committee in 2002.
Hunter's son, Duncan Duane Hunter, a First Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, was deployed to Iraq in 2003.
In November 2004, Hunter and Wisconsin Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner blocked the bill that would have created a National Intelligence Director (NID). Creating a NID was a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission.
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