Robert Russell Whittaker (born September 18, 1939) is an American medical professional and former six-term U.S. Representative from

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, serving from 1979 to 1991.

Early life

Whittaker was born in Eureka, Kansas, and was educated in the Greenwood County public schools. He attended the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

from 1957 to 1959, and

Emporia State University Emporia State University (Emporia State or ESU) is a public university in Emporia, Kansas, United States. Established in March 1863 as the Kansas State Normal School, Emporia State is the third-oldest public university in the state of Kansas. E ...

during the summer of 1959. Whittaker earned his

Doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

Optometry Optometry is the healthcare practice concerned with examining the eyes for visual defects, prescribing corrective lenses, and detecting eye abnormalities. In the United States and Canada, optometrists are those that hold a post-baccalaureate f ...

degree (O.D.) from Illinois College of Optometry in 1962, and began practice as an

optometrist Optometry is the healthcare practice concerned with examining the eyes for visual defects, prescribing corrective lenses, and detecting eye abnormalities. In the United States and Canada, optometrists are those that hold a post-baccalaureate f ...

. He was

clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...

director for the Kansas Low Vision Clinic in 1973.

Political career

Whittaker's first foray into politics was as precinct committeeman and member of the

city planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

commission from 1970 to 1974. He served in the

Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for craftin ...

from 1974 to 1977.

Congress

Whittaker was elected as a Republican to the Ninety-sixth and to the five succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1991). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1990 to the

One Hundred Second Congress The 102nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 1 ...

Later career

After leaving Congress, he was hired as a senior legislative analyst at the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

-based lobbying and public relations firm Fleishman-Hillard. He is a resident of

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whittaker, Bob 1939 births Living people Republican Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives People from Augusta, Kansas People from Eureka, Kansas American optometrists University of Kansas alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas Members of Congress who became lobbyists 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Kansas Legislature