Bill Ratliff

William Roark Ratliff (August 16, 1936 – December 8, 2025) was an American politician and engineer who served as a member of the Texas Senate from 1989 to 2004. Between 2000 and 2003, he served as the 40th lieutenant governor of Texas, after the previous Lieutenant Governor Rick Perry replaced George W. Bush, who resigned to become president of the United States.

Early life and education William Roark Ratliff was born on August 16, 1936. He was educated at Sonora High School in Sonora in Sutton County in West Texas and then at the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied civil engineering. Ratliff was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. In 1992, he was appointed chairman of the Senate Education Committee by Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock. From 1997 to 1998, he served as President Pro Tempore of the Texas Senate. Instead, he soon resigned the Senate seat and was succeeded in a special election by Republican Kevin Eltife of Tyler. In 2005, Ratliff was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for "the example he has set of courage and principle in American public life".

Lieutenant governor In 2000, for the first time in Texas history, However, he later withdrew from the race, and the position went to David Dewhurst, the Texas land commissioner. Under that plan, by 2011, Republicans held twenty-three U.S. House seats from Texas compared to nine for Democrats.

Personal life and death He and his wife, the former Sally Sandlin, had three children and eight grandchildren. And son, Robert Thomas Ratliff (born 1967) of Mt. Pleasant, a former member of the Texas State Board of Education.

Following his political career, Ratliff became an education lobbyist. He was married to Sally Sandlin Ratliff for 60 years. He died at his home in Mount Pleasant, Texas, on December 8, 2025, at the age of 89.