John Unger

Senator John R. Unger was first elected to the West Virginia Senate in 1998 at the age of 28 and is currently serving his sixth term. As a state senator, John Unger has built a reputation as an independent and effective voice for his voters, passing more than 230 bills through the West Virginia Legislature, including legislation that created the West Virginia Division of Energy, West Virginia Water Resource Protection Act and Voluntary Farmland Protection Program.

In the Senate, Unger serves as the Minority Whip and sits on the Committees for Education, Enrolled Bills, Finance, Health and Human Resources, Interstate Cooperation, and Pensions.

John Unger was born and raised in the district, growing up in Martinsburg. He was the first member of his family to attend college when he enrolled at West Virginia University (WVU). Unger was named WVU’s 24th Rhodes Scholar and went on to attain his BA/MA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University. Unger also won the TIME College Achievement Award while at WVU, which is an award given out by the TIME / LIFE magazine editors to only 20 college scholars each year.

John Unger has dedicated his life to serving and empowering people in his community, his state, and around the world. Unger volunteered with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India during the monsoons and riots in 1990, coordinating the distribution of relief supplies. He also provided relief for refugees with the United States Refugee Program in Hong Kong and with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the U.S. State Department Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) in southern Turkey and Iraq. In 2003, he returned to Iraq to help manage relief and recovery efforts in Iraqi orphanages, schools and hospitals with Save the Children International.

Senator John Unger currently resides in Martinsburg, West Virginia. In addition to his State Senate duties, Unger is a Lutheran Pastor.