Bob Dole was born in Russell, Kansas, in 1923. A lawyer and Republican, he was elected as U.S. representative from Kansas in 1960 and served four terms. In 1968 he was elected to the U.S. Senate. Dole was Gerald Ford's running mate in Ford's unsuccessful presidential campaign (1976) and campaigned unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 1980 and 1988. He has served as Senate majority leader (1985-87, 1995 to 1996) and minority leader (1987-95).

His wife, Elizabeth Hanford Dole, born in Salisbury, North Carolina, in1936, is a lawyer and U.S. government official. A Republican, she was secretary of transportation (1983-89) in the Reagan administration and secretary of labor (1989-91) under President Bush. She became president of the American Red Cross in 1991.