Robert Stivers is a member of the Kentucky State Senate, representing District 25. He assumed office in 1997. His current term ends on January 1, 2029. Stivers became Kentucky state Senate president on Jan. 7, 2013. Stivers was born in Kentucky in 1961. He received a bachelor's degree in industrial management from the University of Kentucky and a J.D. from the University of Louisville. After completing his education, Stivers worked as an attorney in Clay County, Kentucky. He then served as assistant commonwealth's attorney from 1989 to 1993 before returning to private practice. In 1996, Stivers defeated Charles Derrickson 53% to 47% to represent District 25 in the Kentucky Senate. Of the eight general elections Stivers ran in from 1996 to 2024, he ran without major party opposition in four races. From 2008 to 2013, Stivers served as the state Senate majority leader before assuming office as the state Senate president in 2013. During Stivers' tenure in the Senate, there was a shift in the partisan control of both chambers of the Kentucky General Assembly. From 1996 to 2000, there was a Democratic majority in both the Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives. Although Republicans gained control of the Senate in 2000, Democrats' control of the House continued until 2016. On working in the Assembly during this time, Stivers said, "You have to open the communications line, and have an ability to have frank discussions that don't play out in the paper."
