John James Exon (August 9, 1921 – June 10, 2005) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 33rd Governor of Nebraska from 1971 to 1979, and as a U.S.

[1][2] Exon joined the United States Army Signal Corps in 1942, and served two years overseas in New Guinea, the Philippines and Japan during World War II.

[4] Exon's first bid for public office was his successful campaign for Governor of Nebraska, defeating incumbent Republican Norbert Tiemann.

While serving on the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services, Exon was a strong defender of the B-2 stealth bomber.

On October 19, 1983, Exon was one of four Democratic senators to vote against a bill establishing Martin Luther King, Jr.

Exon helped to write and secure support for a spending reduction in the U.S. budget of $14 billion in 1994, which he stated was his proudest political achievement.

[13] After his retirement, Exon served on a Committee established by Congress and led by John M. Deutch on the threat of weapons of mass destruction.

In the report, Exon warned of the dangers if such weapons fell into the hands of terrorists and recommended the formation of an agency with a similar role to the Department of Homeland Security.