Robert Michael Duncan (born 1951) is a Kentucky Republican who served as the chairman of the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in ...

from 2007 to 2009. Throughout his career, he has served on the boards of a variety of public- and private-sector organizations. Duncan was chairman, president, and CEO of Inez Deposit Bank in

Inez, Kentucky Inez ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Martin County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 546 at the 2020 census. Geography Inez is located at (37.866431, -82.539058). According to the United States Census Burea ...

, which merged with First State Bank in February 2021. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service and previously served as its chairman.

Early life and career

Duncan was born in

Oneida, Tennessee Oneida is a town in Scott County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,787 at the 2020 census. Oneida is known for its proximity to the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. The town is named for Oneida, New York, the h ...

. He is active in numerous professional and

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organizations. He served as chairman of a state university and serves as chairman of the board of trustees at

Alice Lloyd College Alice Lloyd College is a private work college in Pippa Passes, Kentucky. It was co-founded by the journalist Alice Spencer Geddes Lloyd (a native of Cambridge, Massachusetts) and June Buchanan (a native of New York City) in 1923, at first unde ...

, a private four-year liberal arts college in

Pippa Passes, Kentucky Pippa Passes is a home rule-class city located along Caney Fork in Knott County, eastern Kentucky, United States. Its formal name was chosen to honor benefactors of Alice Lloyd College. Residents commonly call the community "Caney" or "Caney Cree ...

. He has served as chairman for the Center for Rural Development in

Somerset, Kentucky Somerset is a home rule-class city in Pulaski County, Kentucky, United States. The city population was 11,924 according to the 2020 census. It is the seat of Pulaski County. History Somerset was first settled in 1798 by Thomas Hansford and rec ...

, a $30 million state-of-the-art regional center emphasizing telecommunications, training, and development. President George W. Bush appointed him to the President's Commission on White House Fellows in 2001.

Career

Chairman of the Republican National Committee

A lifelong Republican, Duncan was a delegate to the 1972, 1976, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

s and is one of the few persons ever to serve on the four standing convention committees. Duncan served as treasurer and general counsel of the

(RNC) from July 10, 2002, until his election as chairman. In January 2007, he was elected Chairman of the RNC, replacing

Ken Mehlman Kenneth Brian Mehlman (born August 21, 1966) is an American social entrepreneur and businessman. He serves as a member, global head of public affairs, and co-head of KKR global impact at investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. He oversees the fir ...

, and served until January 30, 2009, when he withdrew from renomination to the chairmanship.

RNC re-election bid

;RNC chairman vote ''Source: CQPolitics, and Poll Pundit : Candidate won that Round of voting : Candidate withdrew : Candidate won RNC Chairmanship

Chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority

President George W. Bush nominated him to the Tennessee Valley Authority Board; he was unanimously confirmed by the

United States 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 po ...

in March 2006. effective May 18, 2009. He was subsequently elected to serve as the 15th chairman of the

Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolin ...

in May 2009 and served until May 2010, when he was replaced by banker

Dennis C. Bottorff Dennis C. Bottorff (born 1944) is an American businessman, banker and philanthropist. As chairman and chief executive officer of the First American Corporation, he was responsible for its merger with the AmSouth Bancorporation. He served as the c ...

Governor of the United States Postal Service

On September 13, 2018, he became a member of the

Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service The Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service is the governing body of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The board oversees the activities of the Postal Service, while the postmaster general actively manages its day-to-day ...

. On December 5, 2019, he was confirmed by the

to serve another full term ending in December 2025. Duncan was involved in the selection of Louis DeJoy as U.S. postmaster general amid the 2020 presidential election. DeJoy did not go through the normal vetting process for postmaster general; two separate search firms were used by the USPS board, and neither firm mentioned DeJoy in their list of candidates. After DeJoy's appointment, postal service leadership implemented measures that led to delays in mail delivery and raised concerns about voting-by-mail in the 2020 election amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Senate Leadership Fund

Duncan is on the board of the Senate Leadership Fund, which is a super PAC tied to Mitch McConnell.

Other roles

Duncan also served as director of the Cleveland

Federal Reserve Bank A Federal Reserve Bank is a regional bank of the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States. There are twelve in total, one for each of the twelve Federal Reserve Districts that were created by the Federal Reserve ...

Cincinnati Branch. From 1989 to 1991, during a sabbatical, he worked in the Bush White House as assistant director of Public Liaison. He also served in the Bush Administration as a member of the President's Commission on White House Fellows starting in 2001.

Education

Duncan holds degrees from the

University of the Cumberlands The University of the Cumberlands is a private Christian university in Williamsburg, Kentucky. About 18,000 students are enrolled at the university. History University of the Cumberlands, first called Williamsburg Institute, was founded on Janu ...

and the University of Kentucky College of Law.

Personal life

Duncan and his wife, Joanne, are 1974 graduates of the

University of Kentucky College of Law The University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law, also known as UK Rosenberg College of Law, is the law school of the University of Kentucky located in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded initially from a law program at Transylvania Universit ...

. Duncan received his undergraduate degree from Cumberland College (now the

). They reside in Inez in Martin County in eastern Kentucky. They have one child, Rob, an assistant United States attorney in

Lexington Lexington may refer to: Places England * Laxton, Nottinghamshire, formerly Lexington Canada * Lexington, a district in Waterloo, Ontario United States * Lexington, Kentucky, the largest city with this name * Lexington, Massachusetts, the oldes ...

, Kentucky, who is married to Valerie Ridder, originally from

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an esti ...

. The Duncans are the principal owners of two community banks with five offices in eastern Kentucky. His son, Robert M. Duncan Jr., has been

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Eastern District of Kentucky from 2017. On September 10, 2012, Duncan became the new president and CEO of the

American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE, formerly ABEC or Americans for Balanced Energy Choices) is a U.S. non-profit advocacy group representing major American coal producers, utility companies and railroads. The organization se ...

(ACCCE).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Mike 1951 births Living people Alice Lloyd College people American bankers American lobbyists College of the Ozarks alumni George W. Bush administration personnel Kentucky lawyers Kentucky Republicans Obama administration personnel People from Martin County, Kentucky People from Scott County, Tennessee Republican National Committee chairs Republican National Committee members Trump administration personnel United States Postal Service people University of Kentucky College of Law alumni