John Francis Steineger Jr. (September 13, 1924–May 1, 2012) was an American politician, diplomat and attorney who spent nearly three decades in the

Kansas State Senate The Kansas Senate is the upper house of the Kansas Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. State of Kansas. It is composed of 40 senators elected from single-member districts, each with a population of at least 60,000 inhabitants. Members o ...

, including serving as Senate minority leader from 1976 to 1988.

Early life

Steineger was born in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of the ...

. He spent a year at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, but his education was interrupted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

; he enlisted in the Navy, serving until 1946. He moved back to Kansas to attend the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

, and married Margaret Ruth Leisy in 1949; the couple eventually had four children, including Chris Steineger, who followed his father into the Kansas State Senate. From 1950 to 1958, John Steineger served in the

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carryi ...

as a

cultural attaché A cultural attaché is a diplomat with varying responsibilities, depending on the sending state of the attaché. Historically, such posts were filled by writers and artists, giving them a steady income, and allowing them to develop their own creat ...

in Germany and Iraq. He returned to Kansas and took up the practice of law, working as a Wyandotte County prosecutor in 1960 and founding his own law firm in 1963.

State Senate

Steineger was elected to the State Senate in 1964, taking office in 1965. He was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

and noted for his environmental conservation efforts, receiving a "Conservation Legislator of the Year" award from the Kansas Wildlife Federation in 1974. He was elected as Senate minority leader in 1976 and held the post for 12 years.

References

External links

Kansas Oral History interviews concerning John Steineger
Democratic Party Kansas state senators 20th-century American legislators Politicians from Kansas City, Kansas University of Kansas alumni University of Kansas School of Law alumni 20th-century American diplomats 20th-century American lawyers Kansas lawyers District attorneys in Kansas 1924 births 2012 deaths {{Kansas-politician-stub