Kyl, Jon, 1942-

Jon Llewellyn Kyl (born April 25, 1942) is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the U.S. Representative from Arizona's 4th congressional district from 1987 to 1995 and as U.S. Senator from Arizona from 1995 to 2013 and again in 2018. Kyl was Senate Minority Whip from 2007 until 2013.

Born in Oakland, Nebraska, he grew up there and in Bloomfield, Iowa. Kyl received B.A. and LL.B. degrees from the University of Arizona before working in Phoenix, Arizona as an attorney and lobbyist. Kyl served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1987 to 1995 and three terms in the U.S. Senate from 1995 to 2013. In 2006, he was recognized by Time magazine as one of America's Ten Best Senators. Kyl was ranked by National Journal in 2007 as the fourth-most conservative U.S. Senator. He has been a fixture of Republican policy leadership posts, chairing the Republican Policy Committee (2003–2007) and the Republican Conference (2007). In December 2007, he became Senate Minority Whip. He was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2010 for his persuasive role in the Senate.

Kyl did not seek re-election to the Senate in 2012 and retired at the end of his third term. He expressly ruled out running for further office except, if offered, the Vice Presidency. After leaving the Senate in 2013, he worked as an attorney in private practice and then worked to shepherd the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh.

In September 2018, Kyl was appointed by Governor Doug Ducey to serve in the Senate seat left vacant by the death of John McCain. At a press conference accepting the appointment, Kyl stated that he would not run for the remainder of the term following the 2020 special election. Kyl is the first person to return to the Senate via appointment since New Hampshire Republican Norris Cotton in 1975. Kyl resigned from the Senate effective December 31, 2018, and was succeeded by Martha McSally. He is currently a senior advisor with Covington & Burleigh LLP advising companies on domestic and international policies that influence U.S. and multi-national businesses and assists corporate clients on tax, health care, national security, and intellectual property matters, among others.