ok_gov_keating
GOVERNOR FRANK KEATING
Age: 54 Born: February 10, 1944; St. Louis, Missouri Education: University of Oklahoma, J.D. (1969); Georgetown University, B.A. (1966) Military: None Family: Married - Catherine Heller; Three children Hometown: Tulsa, Oklahoma Religion: Roman Catholic Career: Governor (1995-present); Practicing attorney (1993-94); Acting Deputy Secretary and General Counsel, Department of Housing and Urban Development (1989-93); Associate Attorney General, U.S. Dept. of Justice (1988-89); Asst. Secretary of the Treasury (1985-88); U.S. Attorney (1981-84); OK State Senate (1975-81); OK State House (1973-74) |
• Keating was born in St. Louis, Missouri but raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He studied history at Georgetown University and got to know Bill Clinton through their involvement in the student government. He graduated in 1966 (two years before Clinton) and moved to Norman, Oklahoma to study law at the University of Oklahoma.
• After finishing law school, Keating went to work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation where he spent two years investigating new-left terrorist activities, bombings, and bank robberies. However, he decided he could fight crime more effectively in the courts than on the streets and returned to Tulsa to work as an Assistant District Attorney.
• Keating launched his first bid for elected office in 1972, winning a seat in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Two years later, he won election to the State Senate, where he eventually became Minority Leader. From 1981 to 1984, Keating served as a U.S. Attorney in Tulsa. He lost two bids for Congress, in 1976 and 1984.
• In 1986, he was appointed by President Reagan to serve as Asst. Secretary of the Treasury, and in 1988, President Bush appointed him Associate Attorney General, the third highest ranking position in the Justice Departmen. Keating served in that post for one year and then moved to Housing and Urban Development, where he became Acting Deputy Secretary and General Counsel under Secretary Jack Kemp. He was nominated for a judgeship, but when the Senate didn't act on his nomination, he returned to Oklahoma to run for governor.
• Keating was elected governor in 1994 with 47% in a three-way race over Lt. Governor Jack Mildren (D) and former U.S. Rep. Wes Watkins (I). Three months into his first term, 169 people were killed in the Oklahoma City bombing, and Keating was suddenly pushed into the national spotlight. He was widely praised for his leadership during the crisis, and his name was mentioned frequently as a potential Dole vice presidential candidate in 1996.