Richard Posthumus (; born July 19, 1950) is an American businessman, and politician. He was the 61st lieutenant governor of Michigan and majority leader of the

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

. In

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, he was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for

Governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of government of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the state's 49th governor. She was re-ele ...

Biography

Posthumus grew up on a dairy farm in Alto, Michigan, outside of Grand Rapids. He graduated from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

, during which he served as chairman of the

College Republicans College Republicans is an umbrella term that describes college and university students who support the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party of the United States. The College Republican National Committee (CRNC) is the oldest campus- ...

and as a vice chairman of the

Michigan Republican Party The Michigan Republican Party is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party in Michigan, United States, sometimes referred to as MIGOP. Ronna Romney McDaniel was the chairwoman of the party, having been elected in 2015 by delegates ...

. In 1971, he managed the successful

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...

campaign of fellow student and future Michigan governor

John Engler John Mathias Engler (born October 12, 1948) is an American politician, lawyer, businessman, and lobbyist who served as the 46th governor of Michigan from 1991 to 2003. Considered one of the country's top lobbyists, he is a member of the Republi ...

. Posthumus was elected to the Senate in 1982 and became majority leader in 1990, when Engler was elected governor. His 1982 campaign was managed by

Saul Anuzis Saulius "Saul" Anuzis (born March 6, 1959) is the president of the 60 Plus Association and a Republican Party politician from the U.S. State of Michigan. He was chairman of the Michigan Republican Party from 2005–2009 and was also a candida ...

. Posthumus was the longest serving majority leader in the history of the Senate. Posthumus joined Engler on as his running mate and candidate for lieutenant governor in 1998 and went on to serve in that post for four years. He was the Republican nominee for governor in

, having defeated Joe Schwarz in the Republican primary, but lost to

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Jennifer Granholm Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is an American politician who was the 16th United States secretary of energy from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she previously served as the 47t ...

in the general election. He joined Compatico in 2005 and became the chief executive officer in 2006. On November 8, 2010, Governor-elect Rick Snyder named Posthumus to be his senior adviser and legislative

lobbyist Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...

Personal life

Posthumus married Pamela "Pam" (née Bartz) in 1972. They had four children together, and seven grandchildren. Pam died of cancer on August 18, 2010. Posthumus married Beth Ann (née Mihlethaler) Fogg on September 24, 2011. Dick's son, Bryan, is a Michigan state representative, and advocate for Alcoholic's Anonymous and Dick's daughter,

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA" * Lisa, stagename of Japanese singer Lisa Komine (born 1978) * Lisa (South Korean singer) (born 1980) * Lisa (Japanese musician, b ...

, is a Republican member of the

Electoral history

* 2002 election for Governor **

(D), 51% ** Dick Posthumus (R), 47% * 2002 election for Governor – Republican Primary ** Dick Posthumus (R), 81% ** Joe Schwarz (R), 19%

References

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Posthumus, Dick 1950 births 21st-century American politicians American politicians of Dutch descent College Republicans Lieutenant governors of Michigan Living people Michigan Republicans Michigan state senators Michigan State University alumni People from Kent County, Michigan 20th-century members of the Michigan Legislature

Biography

Personal life

Electoral history

See also

References