Ben Barnes

Bio

About this Writer

Ben Barnes has built a successful public policy career after over five decades of service in government, politics and private sector business development. With offices in Washington, D.C., Austin and Chicago, the Ben Barnes Group represents a number of Fortune 500 companies and trade associations that advocate for both public and private interests. The Ben Barnes Group provides a range of consulting services including strategic planning and advocacy around state and federal legislation, regulatory matters and other public policy issues.

A protégé of President Lyndon Johnson, Barnes won a seat in the Texas House of Representatives at the age of 22. By 1962, he was a top lieutenant and close ally of Texas Governor John Connally. Three years later, Barnes was elected Texas Speaker of the House. At 26, he was the youngest Speaker of the House in state history. In 1968, Barnes was elected lieutenant governor, again the youngest ever, garnering the most votes of any statewide candidate in Texas history.

Using the same energy that drove his political career, Barnes built a multi-million dollar real estate empire through the seventies and eighties. Barnes now focuses on public policy advocacy and invests in new companies. Since the early 1990s, Barnes has been an active player in Democratic politics, referred to by the Texas Monthly as “one of the chief financial and strategic architects of the Democratic resurgence in the Senate.”

In 1995, he was named a Distinguished Alumnus of University of Texas, Austin, an honor
also bestowed on such luminaries as Lady Bird Johnson and Walter Cronkite. Barnes sits on a number of corporate boards and supports several philanthropic organizations, including the Boys and Girls Club of America. He and his wife, Melanie, adopted two daughters from Romania and Russia, and give of their time and money to numerous charitable organizations.

History

Member for

16 years 11 weeks