Robert Ellsworth Wise Jr. (6 January 1948-) was a member of the US House of Representatives (D-WV 3) from 3 January 1983 to 3 January 1993 (succeeding Mick Staton and preceding Nick Rahall) and from WV-2 from 3 January 1993 to 3 January 2001 (succeeding Harley O. Staggers Jr. and preceding Shelley Moore Capito), and the Democratic Governor of West Virginia from 15 January 2001 to 17 January 2005 (succeeding Cecil H. Underwood and preceding Joe Manchin).
Biography[]
Robert Ellsworth Wise Jr. was born in Washington DC and raised in Charleston, West Virginia. He became a lawyer in 1975 and advocated for coal miners in workers' compensation cases, and he served in the State Senate from 1980 to 1982, in the US House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and as Governor from 2001 to 2005. Wise secured federal aid for road projects in his state, prioritized healthcare and education improvements as Governor, and created Promise scholarships for high-performing students, but he opted not to seek re-election after the publication of an extramarital affair. He went on to serve as the Chairman of the Board of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards from 2009 to 2015.