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Jeff Colyer
Jeff Colyer official portrait.jpg
47th Governor of Kansas
In office
January 31, 2018 – January 14, 2019
Lieutenant Tracey Mann
Preceded by Sam Brownback
Succeeded by Laura Kelly
49th Lieutenant Governor of Kansas
In office
January 10, 2011 – January 31, 2018
Governor Sam Brownback
Preceded by Troy Findley
Succeeded by Tracey Mann
Member of the Kansas Senate
from the 37th district
In office
January 12, 2009 – January 10, 2011
Preceded by Dennis Wilson
Succeeded by Raymond Merrick
Member of the Kansas House of Representatives
from the 48th district
In office
January 8, 2007 – January 12, 2009
Preceded by Eric Carter
Succeeded by Marvin Kleeb
Personal details
Born
Jeffrey William Colyer

(1960-06-03) June 3, 1960 (age 62)
Hays, Kansas, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Ruth Gutierrez
Children 3
Education Georgetown University (BS)
Clare Hall, Cambridge (MA)
University of Kansas (MD)

Jeffrey William Colyer (born June 3, 1960) is an American surgeon and politician who served as the 47th governor of Kansas from January 31, 2018, to January 14, 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 49th lieutenant governor of Kansas from 2011 to 2018. Colyer served in the Kansas House of Representatives from 2007 to 2009 and the Kansas Senate from 2009 to 2011. He assumed the governorship when Sam Brownback resigned to become United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. Colyer ran for a full term as governor in 2018, but narrowly lost the Republican primary to Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach, who in turn lost the general election to Democratic nominee Laura Kelly.

Early life and education

Colyer was raised in Hays, where his father, James Daniel Colyer (d. 2015), worked as a dentist from 1955 to 1985. He graduated from Thomas More Prep High School in 1978 before enrolling at Georgetown University, where he took pre-med courses and earned a bachelor's degree in economics in 1981. After receiving a master's degree in international relations from Clare Hall, Cambridge in 1982, he obtained his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Kansas in 1986.

Early career

Colyer had residency training in general surgery at the Washington Hospital Center (1986–1988, 1989–1991), in plastic surgery at the University of Missouri–Kansas City (1991–1993), and in craniofacial/pediatric plastic surgery at the International Craniofacial Institute in Dallas, Texas (1993–1994).

Colyer was a White House fellow under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, working in international affairs.

In 1994 Colyer opened his own plastic/craniofacial surgery practice in Overland Park, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri. He volunteers with the International Medical Corps, providing care in such areas as Kosovo and Sierra Leone; in this capacity, he has performed both trauma and reconstructive surgery as well as training local doctors. Colyer's work as a volunteer surgeon in combat zones has taken him to Afghanistan and Iraq, and to Rwanda during that country's genocide.

Personal life

Colyer has been married to his wife, Ruth, since 1991. They have three daughters.

Electoral history

Kansas House of Representatives District 48 Republican Primary Election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jeff Colyer 1,455 63.9
Republican Sherrelyn Smith 595 26.1
Republican Jeff Ippel 224 9.8
Kansas House of Representatives District 48 Election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jeff Colyer 6,805 61.7
Democratic Pam Ippel 3,975 36.0
Libertarian Lorianne Fisher Koneczny 243 2.2
Kansas State Senate District 37 Republican Primary Election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jeff Colyer 5,202 69.4
Republican Steve Baru 2,285 30.5
Kansas State Senate District 37 Election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Jeff Colyer 27,311 63.4
Democratic Bond Faulwell 13,249 30.7
Libertarian Rob Hodgkinson 2,464 5.7
Governor's election in Kansas, 2010
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Sam Brownback – Jeff Colyer 530,760 63.28
Democratic Tom Holland – Kelly Kultala 270,166 32.21
Libertarian Andrew Gray – Stacey Davis 22,460 2.68
Reform Ken Cannon – Dan Faubion 15,397 1.84
Total votes 838,790 100.0
Republican gain from Democrat
Governor's election in Kansas, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Sam Brownback – Jeff Colyer 433,196 49.82
Democratic Paul Davis – Jill Docking 401,100 46.13
Libertarian Keen A. Umbehr – Josh Umbehr 35,206 4.05
Total votes 869,502 100.00
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