Robert Joseph Dole (born July 22, 1923) is an American politician and lawyer. He was the United States Senator from Kansas between 1969 to 1996 as a member of the Republican Party. He was the Republican Leader of the United States Senate during the final eleven years of his Senate career from 1985 until 1996. Before his senate career, he was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1961 to 1969. Dole was the Republican nominee for Vice President in the 1976 election and for President in the 1996 election.