Steve Beshear

Steven Lynn Beshear (born September 21, 1944) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 61st governor of Kentucky from 2007 to 2015.

Steve Beshear was born on September 21, 1944, in Hopkins County, Kentucky.

He is the third of five children born to Orlando Russell and Mary Elizabeth (Joiner) Beshear.

He was raised in the small town of Dawson Springs, where his father owned a furniture store, operated a funeral home, and served as mayor.

His father, grandfather, and uncle were Primitive Baptist lay ministers, and in his childhood years, Beshear attended both his father's church and the Christian Church where his mother was a member.

Beshear also accompanied his uncle, Fred Beshear, as he traveled around the county during several races for a seat in the state House of Representatives.

Beshear graduated as valedictorian in a class of 28 at Dawson Springs High School in 1962.

He was also elected student body treasurer and from 1964 to 1965 served as student body president.

While in college, he attended Lexington Primitive Baptist Church and often had lunch at the home of Harold and Marie Fletcher, whose son Ernie he would eventually challenge for the governorship of Kentucky.

He then attended the University of Kentucky, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History in 1966.

He was a member of the Delta Tau Delta social fraternity and the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.

After graduating from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1968, Beshear briefly practiced law in New York before returning to Kentucky and being elected to the state legislature, where he gained a reputation as a consumer advocate.

He parlayed that reputation into a term as attorney general, serving under Governor John Y. Brown Jr. As attorney general, Beshear issued an opinion that copies of the Ten Commandments must be removed from the walls of the state's classrooms in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Stone v. Graham.

He also clashed with first lady Phyllis George Brown when he opposed the practice of charging an admission fee for visitors to view the renovated governor's mansion.

In 1968, Beshear graduated with honors from the University of Kentucky College of Law.

The next year, he married Jane Klingner.

After the marriage, Beshear joined Crestwood Christian Church, which his wife attended.

The couple has two sons, Jeffery Scott Beshear and Andrew Graham Beshear (who is the current Governor of Kentucky), two grandsons, and one granddaughter.

Following their marriage, the Beshears moved to New York City, where Steve worked for the Wall Street law firm of White & Case.

He also served as an intelligence specialist in the United States Army Reserve, performing some of the duties of a Judge Advocate General.

After two and a half years, the family returned to Kentucky, where Beshear joined the Lexington law firm of Harbison, Kessinger, Lisle, and Bush.

In 1973, Beshear began his political career by being elected to represent the 76th District (Fayette County) in the Kentucky House of Representatives.

During his first term, his colleagues named him the most outstanding freshman legislator.

He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 to 1980, was the state's 44th attorney general from 1980 to 1983 and was the 49th lieutenant governor from 1983 to 1987.

He went into practice for himself in 1974.

Taking on partners, he formed the law firm of Beshear, Meng, and Green.

He was re-elected in 1975 and 1977; both campaigns featured close Democratic primaries between Beshear and Jerry Lundergan.

As a legislator, Beshear gained a reputation as a consumer advocate, and sponsored bills to increase environmental protections and end the practice of commercial bail bonding.

He led the firm until his election as attorney general in 1979.

In 1983, Beshear was elected lieutenant governor in the administration of Governor Martha Layne Collins.

His most significant action in this capacity was the formation of the Kentucky Tomorrow Commission, a panel charged with making recommendations for the future of the state.

Beshear's initial rise to political prominence was interrupted in 1987 when he finished third in a five-candidate Democratic gubernatorial primary election.

The Beshear campaign's sparring with that of former Governor Brown, the second-place finisher in the primary, opened the door for political novice Wallace Wilkinson's well-financed campaign to achieve a come-from-behind upset in the race.

For the next 20 years, Beshear practiced law at a Lexington law firm.

His only foray into politics during this period was an unsuccessful challenge to Senator Mitch McConnell in 1996.

In 2007, Beshear was drawn back into politics by the vulnerability of incumbent Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher, whose administration was under extended investigation by then-Attorney General Greg Stumbo, over violations of the state's merit system.

In the 2007 gubernatorial election, Beshear emerged from a six-candidate Democratic primary—largely on the strength of his pledge to expand casino gambling as a means of further funding social programs like education—and defeated Fletcher in the general election.

Beshear was reelected in 2011, defeating Republican David L. Williams and Gatewood Galbraith, an Independent.

He was ineligible for reelection in 2015 due to term limits imposed by the Kentucky Constitution, and was succeeded by Republican Matt Bevin.

Bevin lost reelection in 2019 to Beshear's son Andy.