Kenneth Joel Rothman (October 11, 1935 – April 26, 2019) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

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 create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. He served as the 41st Lieutenant Governor of Missouri from 1981 to 1985.

Biography

Rothman was born and raised in St. Louis and attended public schools. He graduated from

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and also received his law degree from Washington University. Rothman served in the Missouri Air National Guard from 1953 to 1962 and was called to active duty during the

Berlin Crisis of 1961 The Berlin Crisis of 1961 (german: Berlin-Krise) occurred between 4 June – 9 November 1961, and was the last major European politico-military incident of the Cold War about the occupational status of the German capital city, Berlin, and of po ...

. He worked as a prosecutor for St. Louis County before entering private law practice. Rothman's political career began with his election to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1962 representing the Clayton area. He was re-elected eight times. In 1973 he was chosen as

Majority Leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

and in 1976 he became

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

. In 1980 Rothman was elected Lieutenant Governor, defeating Roy Blunt. In 1984, he was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Missouri but was defeated by Republican John Ashcroft. From 2001, he served of counsel to the law firm of Capes, Sokol, Goodman and Sarachan PC. Rothman's ex-wife, Geri Rothman-Serot, was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate against Kit Bond in 1992. His son Daniel Rothman is an attorney in Des Moines Iowa. Ken Rothman was the first Jew elected to statewide office in the history of Missouri. Rothman died on April 26, 2019 in St. Louis, at the age of 83. His ex-wife politician Geri Rothman-Serot, a three-time survivor of breast cancer, died a few months later in Florida on July 2, 2019, of a rare form of bone cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rothman, Ken 1935 births 2019 deaths Jewish American people in Missouri politics Politicians from St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis alumni Lieutenant Governors of Missouri Lawyers from St. Louis Missouri National Guard personnel Speakers of the Missouri House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Washington University School of Law alumni Candidates in the 1984 United States elections