Robert G. Knight

Robert G. "Bob" Knight ( born July 31, 1941) is an American businessman and local politician in Kansas. Between 1980 and 2003 he was several times mayor of Wichita.

Bob Knight grew up in Kansas as a middle child of three children in a working class family. After graduating from high school he joined the Marine Corps in 1959. After his military service, Knight studied at Wichita State University, where he reached in 1970 with a degree in political science. From the 1970s he worked as a management consultant and investor.

The political career began in 1979 with the Knights elected to the City Council Wichita. In the 1980s, he was three times its chairman, three times for one year each Mayor of Wichita. In 1986, Bob Knight competed as a Republican in the 4th electoral district of Kansas for a seat in the House of Representatives of the United States, but was defeated by Democratic incumbent Dan Glickman significantly with 35:64 percent of the vote. After a change of municipal regulation of Wichita's mayor was re-elected in 1989 for the first time in decades directly by the inhabitants, Bob Knight won this election and re-election two years later. However, his second term did not finish Knight, since he was appointed Secretary of State for Economic Affairs and Housing of Kansas. His successor as mayor was Frank M. Olije.

1995 Bob Knight went back to Wichita and applied again to the mayor's office. He won the election against incumbent Elma Broadfoot with nearly 800 -vote lead. The re-election in 1999 - the term was extended to four years - decided Knight clearly for itself. In 2003, when his most recent term ended, Knight was the reigning longest mayor in the 130-year history of Wichita.

In 2002, Bob Knight wanted to run for the office of governor of Kansas, but failed in the Republican primary, in which he finished third. Privately, he then worked in the gaming industry and is involved in the establishment of a casino in Wichita. In August 2013 Knight announced to face in 2015 may once again a mayoral election.