Dan Coats : Ask Biography

Personal data

Date of birth

May 16, 1943(age 72)

Place of birth

Jackson, Michigan

Political party

Republican

Spouse

Marsha Coats

Alma mater

Wheaton College (B.A.)
Indiana University (J.D.)

Religion

Presbyterian Church

Military service

Service/branch

United States Army

Years of service

1966-1968

Assumed office

January 3, 2011

Serving with Richard Lugar

Preceded by

Evan Bayh

In office

January 3, 1989 - January 3, 1999

Succeeded by

Evan Bayh

Preceded by

Dan Quayle

29th United States Ambassador to Germany

In office

August 15, 2001 - February 28, 2005

President

George W. Bush

Succeeded by

William R. Timken, Jr.

Preceded by

John C. Kornblum

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 4th district

In office

January 3, 1981 - January 3, 1989

Succeeded by

Jill L. Long

Preceded by

Dan Quayle

Home | Office Holder | Dan Coats

Daniel Ray "Dan" Coats (born May 16, 1943) is the junior United States Senator from Indiana and member of the Republican Party. He was in the United States Senate from from 1989 to 1999, retired, and then returned in 2011.

Born in Jackson, Michigan, Coats graduated from Wheaton College in Illinois and Indiana University School of Law. He served in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1968. Before serving in the U.S. Senate, Coats was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Indiana's 4th congressional district from 1981 to 1989. He was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Dan Quayle following Quayle's election as Vice President of the United States in 1988. Coats won the 1990 special election to serve the remainder of Quayle's unexpired term, as well as the 1992 election for a full six-year term. He did not seek reelection in 1998.

After retiring from the Senate, Coats served as U.S. Ambassador to Germany from 2001 to 2005, and then worked as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. He was re-elected to the Senate by a large margin in 2010, succeeding U.S. Senator Evan Bayh, who did not seek reelection. Along with Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, he is one of two current Senators to have returned to the Senate after having retired from the Senate.