Jon Kyl

Jon Kyl

Jon Llewellyn Kyl (/ˈkaɪl/; born April 25, 1942) is the junior United States Senator from Arizona and the Senate Minority Whip, the second-highest position in the Republican Senate leadership. In 2010, he was recognized by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world for his persuasive role in the Senate.

The son of U.S. Representative John Henry Kyl, he was born and raised in Nebraska and lived for some time in Iowa. He received his bachelor's degree and law degree from the University of Arizona. He worked in Phoenix, Arizona as a lawyer and lobbyist before winning election to the United States House of Representatives, where he served from 1987 to 1995. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1994 and has been re-elected by large margins since.

Kyl was ranked by National Journal in 2007 as the fourth-most conservative U.S. Senator. He has been a fixture of Republican policy leadership posts, chairing the Republican Policy Committee (2003–2007) and the Republican Conference (2007). In December 2007 he became Senate Minority Whip.

In February 2011, Kyl announced that he would not seek re-election to the Senate in 2012 and would retire at the end of his third term, which concludes on January 3, 2013. He expressly ruled out running for further office except, if offered, the Vice Presidency.