Frank Keating
Governor of Oklahoma
Live Web cast June 22, 2001 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT

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Important Lessons Learned After the Oklahoma City Bombing

Frank Keating's first days in elected office were marked by an unprecedented terrorist attack. Three months after he was sworn in as Oklahoma governor, a fertilizer bomb exploded in front of a federal building in the capital on April 19, 1995, killing 168 people, the worst such assault ever on U.S. soil. The Republican Keating found himself in the forefront of efforts to cope with the tragedy that stunned the nation amid a wave of anti-government activism. Two weeks ago, he presided over the execution of the Oklahoma bomber, Timothy McVeigh.

Keating became the second governor -- and the first Republican -- to win two consecutive terms in 1998, when he rolled to victory in his 1998 re-election bid. Keating faced an often hostile Democratic majority in both houses of the legislature as he led the drive to reform his state's welfare system and other social programs. The welfare law passed in 1995 was one of the first of its kind in the nation and reduced the state welfare rolls by more than 70% by 2001. He also went to war on crime with tough parole policies and truth-in-sentencing laws in a campaign he credits with turning the corner on rising crime rates.

The conservative Keating has also introduced a number of initiatives aimed at reducing divorce, out-of-wedlock births, substance abuse and child abuse. He organized a drive to strengthen marriage, enlisting government, community groups and the faith community. The second Keating term also saw his growing emergence on the national front as he served as chairman of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, and became a leading advocate for the creation of a national energy policy.

Born in St. Louis on February 10, 1944, Keating moved with his family to Tulsa before he was six months old. His political start came with his successful run for student body president at Georgetown University. He earned his law degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1969 and became a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation where his targets were new left terrorists.

Keating returned to Tulsa and became an assistant district attorney. In 1972, he was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and in 1974 he won a seat in the Oklahoma State Senate, where he served for seven years and rose to minority leader. In 1981, Keating was appointed as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma by former President Ronald Reagan and in 1985 he was named Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, beginning seven years of service in various agencies under the Republican administrations. Then-President George Bush appointed Keating in 1992 to the federal appeals bench, but partisan wrangling in Congress delayed his confirmation until after the 1992 election, when it was scuttled by the incoming Clinton administration. Keating then returned to Oklahoma and won the governor's race in 1994.

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