Corker, Bob, 1952-

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Robert Phillips Corker Jr. (born August 24, 1952) is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 2007 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2015 to 2019.

In 1978, Corker founded a construction company, which he sold in 1990. This increased his net worth to $45 million. He ran in the 1994 United States Senate election in Tennessee, but was defeated in the Republican primary by Bill Frist. Appointed by Governor Don Sundquist, Corker served as Commissioner of Finance and Administration for the State of Tennessee from 1995 to 1996, preceded by David Manning and succeeded by John Ferguson. He later acquired two of the largest real estate companies in Chattanooga, Tennessee, before being elected the 71st Mayor of Chattanooga in March 2001; he served one term (2001–2005).

Corker announced his candidacy for the 2006 United States Senate election in Tennessee after Frist announced his retirement. Corker narrowly defeated Democratic U.S. Representative Harold Ford Jr. in the general election, with 51% of the vote. In 2012 Corker was reelected, defeating Democrat Mark E. Clayton, 65% to 30%. On September 26, 2017, Corker announced that he would not seek reelection in 2018; fellow Republican U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn was elected to succeed him.

Following his time in the Senate, Corker returned to business. He currently serves as chairman of Rise Ventures, a joint venture between the Corker Group and Rise Partners; is chairman of One-to-One Health; and is a special advisor to Jefferies Financial Group, a global investment banking firm. He also serves on the advisory board for several philanthropic and policy-focused organizations.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Corker, Bob. Bob Corker : commercials , 1994. University of Oklahoma, Political Community Archives
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Chattanooga (Tenn.). Mayor corporateBody
associatedWith Tennessee. Dept. of Finance and Administration. corporateBody
memberOf United States. Congress. Senate corporateBody
associatedWith University of Oklahoma. Political Commercial Archive. corporateBody
alumnusOrAlumnaOf University of Tennessee, Knoxville corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
Orangeburg SC US
Chattanooga TN US
Knoxville TN US
Subject
Advertising, political
Television advertising
Occupation
Businessmen
Construction Executive
Mayors
Senators, U.S. Congress
State Government Appointee
Activity

Person

Birth 1952-08-24

Male

Americans

English

Information

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