death_date birth_date birthname term_end alma_mater death_place preceded term_start order spouse image succeeded predecessor birth_place party state district successor article_title
11 february 2008 1 february 1928 lantos tamás péter february 3 , 1993 11 , 2008 february 11 , 2008 january university of washington , university of california , berkeley national u.s. naval medical center , bethesda , maryland , tom campbell william royer january 3 , 1981 3 , 2007 january 3 , 1993 january chairman of the house committee on international relations annette -rrb- ; 2 daughters tillemann lantos -lrb- m. 1950-2008 ; his death tom lantos.jpg jackie speier richard pombo henry hyde budapest , hungary democratic california california 12th 11th howard berman tom lantos

tom lantos

thomas peter `` tom '' lantos -lrb- february 1 , 1928 -- february 11 , 2008 -rrb- was a democratic member of the united states house of representatives from california , serving from 1981 until his death as the representative from a district that included the northern two-thirds of san mateo county and a portion of southwestern san francisco .
lantos had announced in early january 2008 that he would not run for reelection because of cancer of the esophagus , but died before finishing his term .
a hungarian-american , lantos was the only holocaust survivor to have served in the united states congress .
in speaking before the house of representatives after his death , house speaker nancy pelosi stated that lantos `` devoted his public life to shining a bright light on the dark corners of oppression ... he used his powerful voice to stir the consciousness of world leaders and the public alike . ''
u2 lead singer bono called him a `` prizefighter '' , whose stamina would make him go `` any amount of rounds , with anyone , anywhere , to protect human rights and common decency '' .
in 2008 , after his death , the congressional human rights caucus , which he founded in 1983 , was renamed the tom lantos human rights commission .
its mission is partly `` to promote , defend and advocate internationally recognized human rights '' .
in 2011 , the tom lantos institute was set up in budapest to promote tolerance and support minority issues in central and eastern europe and in the world .
