Bill Hager (February 6, 1947 – October 13, 2021) was an American politician from Florida. He served four terms in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, representing parts of coastal

Palm Beach County Palm Beach County is a county located in the southeastern part of Florida and lies directly north of Broward County and Miami-Dade County. The county had a population of 1,492,191 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous county ...

from 2010 to 2018.

Biography

Hager was born in

Pipestone, Minnesota Pipestone is a city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Pipestone County. The population was 4,215 at the 2020 census. The city is also the site of the Pipestone National Monument. History Pipestone was platted in October, 187 ...

. He later moved to Iowa, where he attended the

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and grad ...

, graduating with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in mathematics. He then moved to Hawaii, where he worked as a middle school math teacher, and attended the

University of Hawaiʻi The University of Hawaiʻi System, formally the University of Hawaiʻi and popularly known as UH, is a public college and university system that confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven com ...

, receiving his

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...

in educational psychology in 1972. Hager then attended the

University of Illinois College of Law The University of Illinois College of Law (Illinois Law or UIUC Law) is the law school of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a public university in Champaign, Illinois. It was established in 1897 and offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S. ...

, graduating with his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

in 1974. He moved back to Iowa, where he worked as legal counsel to the

caucus in the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

in 1975. Hager then worked as an

Assistant Attorney General Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an assistant attorney general. The president of the United States appoints individuals to the position of assistant attorney general with the advice and ...

, and then as the state's Deputy Insurance Commissioner. He took a job working as chief of staff to

United States Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Tom Tauke Thomas Joseph Tauke (born October 11, 1950) is an American politician, lawyer, and corporate executive from Iowa. He is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Tauke represented the northeast corner of the state of Iowa (2nd dist ...

from 1979 to 1980, and then returned to his work in insurance, serving as the Insurance Commissioner of Iowa from 1986 to 1990. During his service as Insurance Commissioner, he was elected to the

West Des Moines West Des Moines is a city in Polk, Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the ...

School Board. Hager then moved to the Florida in 1990. He was elected to the

Boca Raton Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

City Council in 2002, and served as the city's Deputy Mayor from 2004 to 2005.

Florida House of Representatives

When incumbent

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

Adam Hasner Adam Michael Hasner (born November 25, 1969) is an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2002 to 2010. In 2012, Hasner was the Republican nominee for Florida's 22nd congressional dis ...

was unable to seek re-election in 2010 due to term limits, Hager ran to succeed him in the 87th District, which stretched from

Hypoluxo Hypoluxo is a town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,588 at the 2010 census. As of 2018, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 2,783. Hypoluxo Scrub Natural Area is a protected landscape. Etymolo ...

Deerfield Beach Deerfield Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States, just south of the Palm Beach County line. The city is named for the numerous deer that once roamed the area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 86,859. It is a principal ...

Broward County Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 ...

and

. He won the

primary uncontested and faced Hava Holzhauer, an assistant states attorney in the general election. ''

The Palm Beach Post ''The Palm Beach Post'' is an American daily newspaper serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and parts of the Treasure Coast. On March 18, 2018, in a deal worth US$42.35 million, ''The Palm Beach Post'' and ''The Palm Beach Daily News'' we ...

'' endorsed Hager over Holzhauer, calling him "the better candidate" despite his "near-obsessive focus on support for an Arizona-style immigration law in Florida" due to his other positions and Holzhauer's limited knowledge of the issues. In 2012, when the state's legislative districts were redrawn, Hager was moved into the 89th District, which included most of the territory that he had previously represented in the 87th District. He faced an unexpectedly strong challenge in

Tom Gustafson Tom F. Gustafson Jr. (born October 9, 1949) is an American attorney and politician, who served as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives from 1988 to 1990. A member of the Democratic Party, Gustafson served in the Florida House of Represe ...

, the Democratic nominee and a former

who served as

Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives The speaker is the presiding member of the Florida House of Representatives. The Speaker and his staff provide direction and coordination to employees throughout the House and serve the members in carrying out their constitutional responsibilitie ...

from 1988 to 1990. Gustafson replaced Pamela Goodman, the previous nominee, after she withdrew due to her husband's deteriorating health. He attacked Hager for being "a shill to the insurance industry," and a "puppet" for his party, noting, "Bill Hager hasn't had an original thought in his mind since he left Iowa." The ''

Sun-Sentinel The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding Br ...

'' praised both candidates as "highly qualified," but, "in a tough decision," endorsed Hager, praising him as "a knowledgeable, open and accessible lawmaker." Ultimately, Hager narrowly defeated Gustafson to earn his second term in the legislature, receiving 53% of the vote to Gustafson's 47%. He died of lung disease on October 13, 2021, in

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo ( /ˈfɑɹɡoʊ/) is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 125,990, making it the most populous city in the state and the 219th-most populous city in ...

, at age 74.

References

External links

Florida House of Representatives - Bill Hager
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hager, Bill 1947 births 2021 deaths 21st-century American politicians University of Northern Iowa alumni University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni University of Illinois College of Law alumni Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives People from Boca Raton, Florida People from Pipestone, Minnesota Iowa Republicans 20th-century American educators Schoolteachers from Hawaii State insurance commissioners of the United States Florida city council members School board members in Iowa