He became active in politics following World War II and was later appointed to the Kansas Senate after narrowly losing two Republican primaries for the House of Representatives. He later entered the House of Representatives where he served for a decade before his death from prostate cancer in 1982.
Early life
Keith George Sebelius was born on September 10, 1916, in Norton, Kansas to Carl Sebelius, who died when he was seven, and Minnie Sebelius. He grew up in Almena, Kansas and graduated from Almena High School. He attended Fort Hays State University, graduated in 1939, earned a law degree from George Washington University in 1942, and returned to Norton to practice law.[2][1]
During World War II he served in the United States Army and worked for intelligence agencies to detect German U-boats in the Caribbean.[3]
Career
Early politics
Following the end of World War II, Sebelius served as a councilor on the Almena city council, and became mayor of the city.[4]
In 1947, Sebelius was elected secretary of the Kansas Young Republicans Club and ran for president of the organization, but was defeated by Paul Lackie.[5][6] On April 26, 1953, he was selected as the Junior American Legion Commander for the 6th district in Kansas and later became the senior commander in 1954.[7][8] On September 5, 1955, Sebelius was elected Commander of the Kansas legion by a vote of 494 to 422, with his opponent being John K. Wells.[9] In 1957, he was elected as president of Norton's Chamber of Commerce.[10]
Kansas State Senate
On December 10, 1962, Sebelius was selected to replace state Senator William B. Ryan, who stepped down to become a district judge, and was appointed by Governor John Anderson Jr.[11][12] In 1963, he introduced a bill that would put the entirety of Kansas in the Central Time Zone, but it failed.[13]
During the 1964 elections he served as a delegate to the Republican district convention and he announced that he would seek reelection on April 1, 1964.[14][15] After facing no opposition in the Republican primary Sebelius defeated Democratic nominee Vance Templeton in the general election.[16]
House of Representatives
Elections
Sebelius twice ran unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives, losing both races by narrow margins. On January 8, 1958, he announced that he would run for the Republican nomination in Kansas's 6th Congressional District, but was narrowly defeated by incumbent Representative Wint Smith by 51 votes.[17][18] He ran again in 1960, but was defeated by county attorney Bob Dole by 982 votes.[19]
During the 1976 presidential election, Senator Bob Dole was selected as Ford's vice presidential running mate; had they won, it would have resulted in Dole's resignation from the Senate and a special election. It was speculated that Sebelius would be appointed to replace Dole.[20][21] However, Governor Jimmy Carter won the presidential election causing Dole to remain in the Senate.
Tenure
In 1968, Dole left office to run for Senate and was succeeded by Sebelius, who served until 1981. In June 1969, he served in place of House Minority Whip Leslie C. Arends due to his absence and assisted Minority Leader Gerald Ford for one week.[22] In May 1973, the National Federation of Independent Business named him Man of the Year for Kansas.[23]
On November 15, 1973, he stated that "I frankly believe the man is telling the truth" after hearing Richard Nixon speak about Watergate for over an hour.[24] On December 4, 1973, he voted in favor of House Minority Leader Gerald Ford's appointment as vice president after Spiro Agnew's resignation.[25] After the transcript of the Nixon White House tapes were released he stated that they "are depressing to read and give an unfavorable view of the President".[26] When asked what he thought of the possibility of Nixon refusing to comply with the Supreme Court's ruling in United States v. Nixon he stated that "it would be damn close to an impeachable offense".[27] He voted in favor of a resolution allowing for live radio and television coverage of the impeachment inquiry by the House Judiciary committee.[28] Following Nixon's resignation and Ford's accession to the presidency, Sebelius voted in favor of Nelson Rockefeller's appointment as vice president.[29]
On April 25, 1980, Sebelius announced that he would not seek reelection to the House of Representatives and was succeeded by Pat Roberts, his administration aide.[30]
Later life
On January 11, 1981, a banquet was held in his honor and received telegrams from former President Gerald Ford and President-elect Ronald Reagan. On this occasion the Norton reservoir was renamed to Keith Sebelius Lake in his honor and on January 16, he was named as a Distinguished Kansan of the Year.[31][32] In 1979, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and on August 5, 1982, he died in Norton County Hospital from it. He was buried in Norton, Kansas.[33]
When the House of Representatives voted on recognizing a holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., Sebelius was one of the forty-eight representatives who abstained from the vote.[42]
Foreign
In October 1969, he asked for his name to be removed from a letter created by Representative Sam Steiger to President Richard Nixon asking Nixon to point out to the North Vietnamese that the United States would not rule out any military option in gaining peace with honor, as the wording of the letter promoted an escalation of the war.[43][44][45]
On July 18, 1973, he voted against the War Powers Resolution; after Nixon vetoed the bill Sebelius voted against the overriding of it on November 7, but the House and Senate voted to override Nixon's veto.[46][47] On July 31, 1973, Sebelius voted in favor of a bill that would decrease the United States' military presence overseas by 100,000 and create a cap of 400,000 troops, but it was defeated by a vote of 243 to 163.[48][49]
