Bob Dole

Bob Dole married Phyllis Holden, an occupational therapist, in 1948. However, he was rarely at home to make this marriage work. In spite of that, the couple had a daughter named Robin, born in 1954. Later in 1971, Bob Dole filed a divorce petition against his wife. According to grapevine, she was pretty stunned at the news. The divorce came through in 1972.

The same year, Bob met Elizabeth Alexander Hansford and the couple tied the knot in 1975. Elizabeth Dole was a United States Senator from South Carolina and had occupied many important posts in her long political career. The couple does not have any issue.

Percy Jones Army Hospital, where Bob Dole was treated after the war is now known as Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center. The hospital has been renamed in honor of the three patients who later became United States Senators: Dole, Philip Hart and Daniel Inouye.

Bob Dole was born on July 22, 1923 in Russell, one of the major cities in the Midwestern state of Kansas. His father Doran Ray Dole sold dairy products like cream and egg while his mother Bina M. Dole was a travelling salesperson selling sewing machines. Bob had three siblings; Kenny, Gloria and Norma.

When the Great Depression of 1930 set in, the financial condition of the family was severely affected. They had to move into the basement of their house and rent out the upper floors. To raise additional cash, Bob started working as a paper boy and a soda jerk in the local drug store. The drugstore owner later recalled him as a good worker.

The difficult time instilled the value of hard work and sacrifice in young Bob. He also learnt to trust God and continued his studies at Russell High School. During his school days, Bob was good in sports and won many matches for the school. He was also an active member of the Boys Scout.

Bob graduated from Russell High School in 1941 and enrolled at the Kansas University. There he joined a premedical course. Here too he excelled in sports and soon became a member of the basketball team, football team and track team. However, he left college as United States joined the Second World War.

Bob Dole enlisted in the army in 1942. In time, he became a second lieutenant in the 10th Mountain Division of the US Army and was sent to Italy in 1944. In 1945, while trying to rescue an army radioman, Bob was badly injured in a German machine gun attack.

Bob Dole entered politics while he was still in college. In 1950, he was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives on Republican ticket. By the time his term ended in 1952, he had secured his L.L.B. degree and was admitted to the bar. He then started practicing at Russell and soon became the County Attorney of Russell County.

In 1961, Bob entered the national political arena as a member of United States House of Representatives. He represented the Sixth Congressional District in Kansas, which subsequently merged with the Third Congressional District to form the First Congressional District. Dole was reelected from this district as well.

He won the seat twice more before opting for the Senate. In 1968, he defeated Kansas Governor William H. Avery to occupy the seat vacated by Senator Frank Carlson. He was reelected to the position in 1974, 1980, 1986, and 1992. On June 12, 1996, he resigned from his seat to take part in the Presidential elections.

During his long innings at the Senate, Bob Dole occupied many important positions. He was the Chairperson of the Senate Finance Committee from 1981 to 1985 and Minority Leader of the United States Senate from 1987 to 1995. He also became Majority Leader of the United States Senate twice; once from 1985 to 1987 and then from 1995 to 1996.

In addition, he held important position in the Republican Party. He became the Chairperson of the Republican National Committee from 1971 to 1973 and the Leader of the Republican Party in the United States Senate from 1985 to 1996.

After losing the 1996 presidential election Bob Dole decided to retire. However, he continued with political activism and spent a great deal to his energy to his speaking engagements. He also concentrated on his career as a lawyer and dedicated a lot of his time and energy to his law firm.

In 2003, Dole founded Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics in Kansas. It is a nonpartisan political institute aimed at bringing back bipartisanship back to politics. In addition, he became involved in many domestic as well as international programs aimed at combating hunger and poverty.

The ‘George McGovern-Robert Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program’ is another feather in his cap. The program, created by Bob Dole and George McGovern and funded largely by US Congress, provides free meals to more than 22 million children across 41 countries.

Presently, in spite of his failing health, Bob Dole remains forever active. He is often seen at the entrance of the National World War II Memorial, lobbying for the support for the National Eisenhower Memorial. Earlier he had singlehandedly raised more than $170 million for the privately funded WWII memorial.