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 state in the 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. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

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 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 ...

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 Vega ...

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 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 M ...

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 wo ...

. Miller served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1967 to 73, and later in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. 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 Lieutenant Governor of Nevada 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 who served as a United States Senator from Nevada from 1989 to 2001. A Democrat, Bryan served as the 25th Governor of Nevada from 1983 to 1989, and before that serve ...

resigned to take a seat in the U.S. Senate. 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,

named after him, which opened in 1999. Miller presently serves on the board of directors of Wynn Resorts and International Game Technology. 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 Dutko Worldwide (DW), now Dutko Grayling formerly The Dutko Group, TDG or TDG Companies, is a Washington, DC based bipartisan lobbying firm that offers "comprehensive public policy management." DW's services include "Issues and opportunities assessm ...

, 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 and politician. He is a Democrat, currently the Clark County Commissioner for District C since 2021, the former Secretary of State of Nevada and 2012–2013 president of the Nationa ...

, 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 post is common to many U.S. states. In Nevada, it is a constitutional office (i.e., it is mandated by the Constitution of Nevada). The ...

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 Va ...

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