Van B. Poole (born July 5, 1935) is a former Republican politician from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Born in Jackson, the seat of Madison County in western

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, he graduated in 1958 from Memphis State University in Memphis, Tennessee. He relocated to Florida in 1963. From 1953 to 1961, Poole served in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, 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 F ...

. From 1971 to 1979, he was a member of 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 ...

from Broward County in south Florida. He was elected to the state House in the same election in which his fellow Republicans,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Claude R. Kirk, Jr. Claude Roy Kirk Jr. (January 7, 1926 – September 28, 2011) was the 36th governor of the U.S. state of Florida (1967–1971). He was the first Republican governor of Florida since Reconstruction. Early life Kirk was born in San Bernardino, Ca ...

, and

U.S. Representative 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 ...

William C. Cramer William Cato Cramer Sr. (August 4, 1922 – October 18, 2003), was an American attorney and politician, elected in 1954 as a member of the United States House of Representatives from St. Petersburg, Florida. He was the first Florida Republican e ...

of St. Petersburg, lost. For two years, he was the House Minority Whip. From 1979 to 1983, he was a member of the Florida Senate. In 1982, he received 38.3 percent of the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

vote in his challenge to Democratic

U.S. Senator 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 ...

Lawton Chiles, who won his third and final term in the body. Chiles was first elected in 1970, when he defeated Cramer. Poole ran for Treasurer of Florida in 1986, but lost to

Bill Gunter William Dawson Gunter Jr. (born July 16, 1934) is an American politician from the state of Florida. Early life and education Gunter was born in Jacksonville in 1934. He attended public schools in Live Oak and received his Bachelor of Science in ...

. Under the Republican Governor

Bob Martinez Robert Martinez (born December 25, 1934) is an American retired politician who served as the 40th governor of Florida from 1987 to 1991. A member of the Republican Party, Martinez was the first person of Spanish descent to be elected governor o ...

, Poole was the director of the Florida Department of Business Regulation. From 1989 to 1993, he chaired the

Florida Republican Party The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Florida. It is currently the state's favored party, controlling the majority of Florida's U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, supermajori ...

. In 2001, then Governor Jeb Bush appointed him to the Federal Judicial Nomination Commission, headed by former Governor Martinez. Poole spent twenty years as an insurance executive with Krieg Kostas & Poole and is currently a lobbyist with Dutko Poole McKinley. He resides in

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

in Broward County, Florida

References

External links

, - , - , - , - , - 1935 births Living people People from Jackson, Tennessee University of Memphis alumni Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Republican Party Florida state senators Politicians from Fort Lauderdale, Florida American businesspeople American lobbyists {{Florida-politician-stub