Childhood & Early Life
Robert Ellsworth Bob Wise, Jr was born in Washington, D.C.
He was educated at the Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, from where he obtained a B.A degree in 1970.
He later went on to study law at the Tulane University Law School, New Orleans, Louisiana. He graduated from the university with a law degree in 1975.
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Career
In 1980, he began his political career after he won the election into the state Senate of West Virginia as a Democratic candidate from Charleston, the capital state of West Virginia.
In 1981, he began his career in the Senate of West Virginia after winning the elections. The following year, he was elected into the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 3rd district.
On January 3, 1983, he took office as the Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 3rd district. He succeeded Republican Mick Staton.
Due to the reduction in the population cost of West Virginia, his district was renumbered to be the 2nd. He served as the regional whip and the Democratic Party parliamentarian.
He was also appointed as the ranking member of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. This is a standing committee part of the United States House of Representatives.
On January 3, 1993, he was re-elected as the Member of the U.S. House of Representative from West Virginia's 2nd district. He succeeded Harley O. Staggers, Jr.
In December 1998, he made an announcement of his plan to raise money to fund the campaign costs for the governor office. For this purpose, he planned to formulate an exploratory committee.
In 2000, he stood for the office of the governor running against the American Republican Party politician from West Virginia, Cecil Harland Underwood. He eventually won with a margin of 51 per cent.
On January 15, 2001, he took office as the 33rd Governor of West Virginia. During his tenure he saw some of the nation’s biggest challenges - the September 11, 2001 attacks, economic troubles and a stiff fiscal environment.
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He tried to solve the economic crisis by framing policies that enabled an extensive tax structure and an effective infrastructure assistance program. The state also funded many investment projects.
He is the force behind the ‘PROMISE’ scholarship scheme, which successfully facilitated many students from West Virginia to study at public universities and state universities.
He has served as the Chairman of the National Governors Association Committee on Natural Resources and the Southern States Energy Board. He is responsible for financing the Higher Education Grant Program.
In 2003, he made an announcement that he would not stand for re-election. He served as the 33rd Governor of West Virginia for the next two years, after which he went to Washington.
After retiring from politics, he settled in Washington, where he now serves as the President of the national education policy organisation, Alliance for Excellent Education.
In 2010, he co-partnered with Jeb Bush, to serve as the co-chairman of the Digital Learning Council. The council meeting had more than 100 leaders from the field of education, government and philanthropy.
Personal Life & Legacy
In 1984, he married Sandra Casber. The couple met while she worked as a subcommittee lawyer with the United States House Committee on Ways and Means during the early 1980s.
He has two children, a son Robert, born in 1987 and a daughter named Alexandra, born in 1990.
His wife, Sandra Casber, while she was the First lady of West Virginia, went to various parts of the state in order to create awareness about child literacy and to control underage drinking.
He had an affair with a woman named Angela Mascia, who worked at the West Virginia Development Office in 2003.
