Richard Gephardt

Guest Author

Richard ‘Dick’ Gephardt (@dickgephardt) is a Board Member of Keep Our Republic. Mr. Gephardt has been working with Keep Our Republic since the organization’s founding in 2020. He is from St. Louis, Missouri and spent 37 years in public service from being a precinct captain and alderman to US Congressman, Majority and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives. He was also a candidate for President, twice during the 1988 and 2004 races. He has a Juris Doctorate from the  University of Michigan.

Mr. Gephardt served for 28 years in the United States House of Representatives from 1976 to 2004, representing Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District. In his first year in Congress, he was appointed to both the House Ways & Means and Budget Committees. Having been a member of the leadership, he has an understanding of the rules and procedures of the House and Congress, including the certification process. He was elected to serve as House Democratic Leader for more than 14 years, as House Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995 and Minority Leader from 1995 to 2003.

Gephardt emerged as one of the leading strategists of the Democratic Party’s platform and chief architect to landmark reforms in healthcare, pensions, education, energy independence, and trade policy.

Following his time in Congress, Congressman Gephardt has worked in private practice and served on several boards including Ford Motor Company in Detroit, MI and U.S. Steel Company in Pittsburgh, PA. Widely known for his advocacy for international human rights, Mr. Gephardt served as Chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is the Founder of the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement at Washington University in St. Louis.