Robert Stivers

Bertram Robert Stivers II (born December 24, 1961) is an American attorney and politician who has served as president of the Kentucky Senate since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, he has served as a member of the Kentucky Senate representing Kentucky's 25th Senate district since 1997.

He is the longest-serving senate president in the commonwealth's history.

Early life and education Bertram Robert Stivers II was born on December 24, 1961, to Bertram and Joan (Koch) Stivers. His father was an attorney, politician, and World War II veteran who served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky prior to being elected circuit court judge of Kentucky's 27th judicial circuit in 1963 and commonwealth attorney for Kentucky's 41st judicial circuit in 1987. His mother was a graduate of Harvard University who served in various teaching and administrative roles at Sue Bennett College, including president from 1988 to 1991.

Stivers was raised in London, Kentucky, and graduated from Laurel County High School in 1980. Afterwards, he intended to pursue a career as an architect and enrolled in the University of Kentucky. However, after graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial management and a minor in economics, Stivers instead chose to attend the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville, where he graduated with a Juris Doctor degree.

State Senator (1997–present) In 1996, Kentucky's 25th Senate district seat was left open by the redistricting of incumbent John David Preston into the 29th Senate district. Stivers was unopposed in the Republican primary, and won the 1996 Kentucky Senate election for the seat with 14,027 votes (52.7%) against Democratic nominee Charles Derrickson.

During his tenure, Stivers has described himself as a "center-right" figure with a particular focus on economic development. It was during this period that, according to Senate President David L. Williams, Stivers attempted to oust him from his position due to Williams' poor relationship with Beshear.

Senate president In contrast to Williams, Stivers described his relationship with Beshear as, "very good, very honorable and honest." After his 2015 election as governor, Bevin and Stivers continued to clash over issues such as Bevin's veto of the 2018 biannual state budget and veto of a public pension reform bill in 2019. Stivers strongly condemned and called for a federal investigation to be made regarding the hundreds of pardons Bevin issued during his final days in office.

The administration of Andy Beshear has seen similar clashes, despite Stivers early desire to have a strong working relationship with the governor much like what he had with his father. Since then, while Stivers and Beshear have had interests aligned over economic and workforce projects, the Republican supermajorities in both chambers have stripped the executive branch of many of its powers and overridden nearly all of Beshear's vetos.