Robin Jerald Beard Jr. (August 21, 1939 – June 16, 2007) was an American politician who served as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

United States House of Representatives 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from

Tennessee's 6th congressional district The 6th congressional district of Tennessee is a congressional district in Middle Tennessee. It has been represented by Republican John Rose since January 2019. Current boundaries The district is located in north-central Tennessee and borders K ...

, who served from 1973 to 1983.

Early life

Beard was born in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

. He was educated at

Montgomery Bell Academy Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) is a preparatory day school for boys in grades 7 through 12 in Nashville, Tennessee. History MBA was established in 1867 in the aftermath of the American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861&nb ...

and graduated from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

, where he was a member of the

Sigma Chi Fraternity Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more tha ...

. He was a former colonel in the

United States Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. It is the largest command, by assigned pe ...

Political career

In 1970, Beard was appointed Tennessee personnel commissioner by newly elected Republican

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 ...

Winfield Dunn Bryant Winfield Culberson Dunn (born July 1, 1927) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 43rd governor of Tennessee from 1971 to 1975. He was the state's first Republican governor in fifty years.Phillip Langsdon, ''Tennessee ...

. In 1972, he entered the

GOP The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), is one of the Two-party system, two Major party, major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by Abolitionism in the United Stat ...

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

for the newly reconfigured 6th Congressional District. The district had been significantly redrawn by the state legislature, which shifted several Republican-trending portions near Memphis into the Sixth and removed several solidly Democratic areas. In November, Beard defeated Anderson by twelve percentage points. Beard's victory was not considered an upset, given the considerably more Republican bent of the redrawn district. Beard worked this district well over the next decade, building up a large following in a district where most of the living residents had never been represented by a Republican before. However, conservative Democrats continued to hold most of the district's seats in the state legislature well into the 1980s. Proving just how Republican this district had become at the national level, Beard was easily reelected in 1974 with 56.6 percent of the vote even as Republicans across the country were turned out of office due to anger over

Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continual ...

. In 1976, Beard faced former Senator

Ross Bass Ross Bass (March 17, 1918January 1, 1993) was an American Congressman and United States Senator from Tennessee. Background Bass was the son of a circuit-riding Methodist minister in rural Giles County, attended the local public schools, and ...

, who had represented the 6th from 1955 to 1964. However, Beard turned back this challenge fairly easily, winning by almost 29 points. Despite his name recognition, Bass was unable to overcome the challenge of running in territory that he did not know and that did not know him. Beard took over 74 percent of the vote in 1978, and was unopposed in 1980. Beard did not run for a sixth term in the 1982 elections, opting instead to run for the Republican nomination to oppose freshman Democratic

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Jim Sasser James Ralph Sasser (born September 30, 1936) is an American politician, diplomat, and attorney. A Democrat, Sasser served three terms as a United States senator from Tennessee from 1977 to 1995, and was Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. ...

. While Beard won the

, he lost in a massive 20-point landslide. The Republicans would not win another statewide race until 1994, when they captured the governorship and both Senate seats. Beard was appointed as a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

deputy secretary-general in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

from 1984 to 1987, and from 1992 to 1995. Beard later ran a

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

-based import-export business and was at one time a resident of

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

. Beard retired to

Charleston County, South Carolina Charleston County is located in the U.S. state of South Carolina along the Atlantic coast. As of the 2020 census, its population was 408,235, making it the third most populous county in South Carolina (behind Greenville and Richland counties). ...

, where he later ran for a seat on the county

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

in 2006 (

Arthur Ravenel Jr. Arthur Ravenel Jr. (March 29, 1927 – January 16, 2023) was an American businessman and a Republican Party (United States), Republican politician from Charleston, South Carolina. From 1987 to 1995, he served four terms in the United States Hou ...

, also a former U.S. Representative, ran successfully in the race.)

Death

Beard died from a brain tumor in

Isle of Palms, South Carolina Isle of Palms is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina, Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. At the 2010 census, the population was 4,133. Isle of Palms is a barrier island on the South Carolina coast. The city is included withi ...

. His funeral was held at the

Huguenot Church The Huguenot Church, also called the French Huguenot Church or the French Protestant Church, is a Gothic Revival church located at 136 Church Street in Charleston, South Carolina. Built in 1844 and designed by architect Edward Brickell White ...

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beard, Robin 1939 births 2007 deaths State cabinet secretaries of Tennessee United States Marine Corps colonels Vanderbilt University alumni Businesspeople from Charleston, South Carolina Businesspeople from Alexandria, Virginia Politicians from Knoxville, Tennessee Politicians from Charleston, South Carolina Politicians from Alexandria, Virginia South Carolina Republicans Deaths from brain cancer in the United States Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American businesspeople