Robert Joseph Miller (born March 30, 1945) is an American former attorney and politician who served as the 26th Governor of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

from 1989 to 1999. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he had previously served as the

Lieutenant Governor of Nevada The lieutenant governor of Nevada is a constitutional officer in the executive branch, executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Nevada. The lieutenant governor maintains an office in Carson City, Nevada at the Nevada State Capitol and i ...

from 1987 to 1989. After his re-election in 1994, no Nevada Democrats were elected governor of Nevada for 20 years until

Steve Sisolak Stephen F. Sisolak (born December 26, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who has served as the 30th governor of Nevada since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served on the Clark County Commission from 2009 to 2019 and on t ...

won in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Life and career

Miller was born in Chicago, Illinois, and moved with his family to

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

as a child. His father, Ross Miller, was a bookmaker, who, according to his son's 2013 autobiography, ''Son of a Gambling Man'', had operated on both sides of the law on some of the meaner streets of industrial Chicago. Bob Miller attended Roman Catholic schools. He graduated from

Bishop Gorman High School Bishop Gorman High School (also commonly referred to as Gorman High School or BGHS) is a private Roman Catholic preparatory school located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The school is administered by the Diocese of Las Vegas. The school opened in 1954. ...

in 1963 with honors, and from

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...

in 1967, earning a degree in political science. He received his J.D. degree from

Loyola Law School Loyola Law School is the law school of Loyola Marymount University, a private Catholic university in Los Angeles, California. Loyola was established in 1920. Academics Degrees offered include the Juris Doctor (JD); Master of Science in Legal ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Miller served in the

U.S. Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 20 ...

from 1967 to 73, and later in the

U.S. Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commiss ...

. He served as Clark County Deputy District Attorney from 1971 to 73. In 1978 Miller was elected Clark County District Attorney, and in 1982 became the first holder of that office to win re-election. He was president of the National District Attorneys Association in 1984. Elected the 29th

in 1986, Miller was sworn in for a four-year term on January 5, 1987. On January 3, 1989, Miller succeeded to the governorship when

Richard Bryan Richard Hudson Bryan (born July 16, 1937) is an American attorney and politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and cr ...

resigned to take a seat in the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

. Miller was elected to two full four-year terms as governor, in 1990 and 1994, and served until January 4, 1999; his decade in office made him Nevada's longest-serving governor. Lifetime term limits prevented him from seeking re-election in 1998. He was the last Democrat to serve as Nevada governor until

in 2019. In 1997–98, he served as chairman of the National Governors Association. Miller has a middle school in

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada * H ...

named after him, which opened in 1999. Miller presently serves on the board of directors of

Wynn Resorts Wynn or wyn (; also spelled wen, ƿynn, and ƿen) is a letter of the Old English alphabet, where it is used to represent the sound . History The letter "W" While the earliest Old English texts represent this phoneme with the digraph , ...

and

International Game Technology International Game Technology PLC (IGT), formerly Gtech S.p.A. and Lottomatica S.p.A., is a multinational gambling company that produces slot machines and other gambling technology. The company is headquartered in London, with major offices in ...

. He is the Principal of Robert J. Miller Consulting, which provides business-to-government and business-to-business advice and assistance. He is also a senior advisor with Dutko Worldwide, a bipartisan government relations company headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Family

Miller and his wife, Sandy, have three children, including

Ross Miller Ross James Miller (born March 26, 1976) is an American Attorney at law, attorney and politician. He is a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, currently the Clark County Commissioner for District C since 2021, the former Secretary of State ...

, who served as

Secretary of State of Nevada The Secretary of State of Nevada is a statewide elected office in the State of Nevada. The Secretary of state (U.S. state government), secretary of state post is common to many U.S. states. In Nevada, it is a constitutional office (i.e., it is man ...

from 2007 to 2015. He and his wife currently live in

Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the second largest city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with an estimated population of 320,189 in 2019. The city is part of the Las Vegas Vall ...

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Bob 1945 births Bishop Gorman High School alumni Democratic Party governors of Nevada District attorneys in Nevada Lieutenant Governors of Nevada Living people Loyola Law School alumni Military personnel from Illinois Military personnel from Nevada Nevada lawyers Newmont Politicians from Carson City, Nevada Politicians from Las Vegas Politicians from Chicago Santa Clara University alumni United States Air Force reservists United States Army reservists