Abourezk became involved with and joined the Democratic Party of South Dakota. In 1968, he ran for attorney general of South Dakota but lost to Gordon Mydland.
Abourezk kept looking for opportunities. He was a Democrat who served in the US House of Representatives from 1971 to 1973. He was elected in 1970. After being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972, James Abourezk held the position from 1973 to 1979.
James Abourezk decided not to run for reelection. Senator Abourezk was one of the “200 Faces for the Future” in 1974. Abourezk criticized the Office of Public Safety (OPS), a US agency linked to the CIA and USAID that provided training to foreign police forces, in his capacity as a senator.
The officers they trained were used to suppress civilians in a number of Central and South American countries during a period of military dictatorships, bloody conflicts, and social unrest.
James Abourezk’s Wife: Was James Abourezk Married?
Abourezk wed Margaret Bethea in 1982. Later, they divorced. He then met Sanaa Dieb, the owner of a restaurant, at an embassy event in Washington, DC. In 1991, the couple got married.
