Robert J. Dole was born on July 22, 1923, in Russell, Kansas, and his early adulthood was shaped by World War II. In 1942, shortly after the United States entered the war, he joined the U.S. Army’s Enlisted Reserve Corps and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 10th Mountain Division. Serving in the Italian campaign, he saw intense combat and was seriously wounded in 1945 by German fire, injuries that left his right arm permanently impaired and required lengthy recovery. His wartime service earned him decorations including the Purple Heart and Bronze Star and remained a defining part of his public identity throughout his life.
After World War II, Dole returned to Kansas and completed his education, earning degrees in arts and law. He began his political career at the local and state levels, serving in the Kansas House of Representatives from 1951 to 1953 and as county attorney of Russell County until 1961. That year he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he represented Kansas from 1961 to 1969. In 1968, Dole won election to the U.S. Senate, beginning a tenure that would last nearly three decades.
In the Senate, Dole became a prominent Republican leader. He chaired the Republican National Committee in the early 1970s and later the Senate Finance Committee. From 1985 until his resignation in 1996 he led Senate Republicans, serving multiple terms as Majority and Minority Leader. Nationally, he was the Republican vice presidential nominee in 1976, a hopeful for the Republican presidential nomination in 1980 and 1988, and the party’s presidential nominee in 1996. He also served as Chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1971-1973.
1962 Congress
1968 USS
1974 USS re-elect
1976 Vice Presidential nominee
1979 - Kansas day
1980 GOP Hopeful
1980 USS Re-elect
1984 GOP Hopeful
1986 USS Majority Leader
1988 GOP Hopeful
1992 USS Re-elect
1996 GOP Nominee
