Robert Freeman Smith

Robert Freeman "Bob" Smith (born June 16, 1931) in Portland, Oregon, is an American politician.

Early life

Smith grew up in Burns, Oregon. He attended Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, graduating in 1953 with an agricultural degree. He worked as a rancher until his election to the Oregon House of Representatives in 1960.

Career

He served in the state House until he retired in 1972 to return to his ranch, and was Speaker of the House for the 1969 and 1971 sessions. Between 1965 and 1969, Smith was the president of the Oregon Public Land Commission.

Smith, a Republican, was a United States Congressman from Oregon's 2nd congressional district from 1983 to 1995. After a brief retirement, he returned to Congress in 1997. Wes Cooley, the Republican who had succeeded Smith in the House, had been caught in several lies about his military service and Smith was persuaded to come out of retirement. The Republicans promised him the chairmanship of the House Agriculture Committee if he won. He won easily and was duly appointed Chairman, but only served one term before retiring for good.

Robert F. Smith

Robert F. Smith may mean:

Robert F. Smith (investor)

Robert F. Smith (born December 1, 1962) is an American investor. He is the founder, chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, an investment firm with over $14 billion in assets as of October 1, 2015. Smith is ranked by Forbes as 268th richest man in America, and the second wealthiest African-American on the list, trailing only Oprah Winfrey.

Early life

A 4th generation Coloradoan, Robert F. Smith was born to two parents with PhDs, who were school teachers. He grew up in a mostly African-American, middle-class neighborhood in Denver, and attended a newly-integrated school.

When he was an infant, his mother carried him at the March on Washington, where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.

In high school, he applied for an internship at Bell Labs but was told the program was intended for college students. Mr. Smith persisted, calling every day. When a student from M.I.T. did not show up, he got the position, and that summer he developed a reliability test for semiconductors.