William E. Barrett

Republican Representative of Nebraska's 3rd district

  • Representative

    Nebraska, district 3

    January 6, 1999 - January 3, 2001

5

Congresses Served

5

House Terms

January 1, 1929 (87 years old)

Birthday

January 1, 2016

Death

  • Served five terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2001
  • Born in Lexington, Nebraska
  • Attended Hastings College and became a licensed real estate broker
  • Served in the United States Navy before becoming a real estate agent and Republican activist
  • Held a position as an administrator at Hastings College
  • Was a member of the Nebraska Republican State Executive Committee in the 1960s
  • Chaired the Nebraska arm of President Gerald Ford’s campaign in 1976
  • Elected to the unicameral Nebraska Legislature in 1978, serving until his election to Congress
  • Served as Speaker of the Nebraska Legislature from 1987 to 1991
  • Entered the Republican primary for the 3rd District in 1990, winning by a narrow margin
  • His first congressional race was notably close, but subsequent elections were won by large margins
  • Served on the House Agriculture Committee and the Education and the Workforce Committee, becoming vice chairman of the former
  • Helped write the Freedom to Farm Act of 1996
  • Retired from Congress in 2000 and resided in Lexington until his death in 2016 at an assisted living facility
  • Married to Elsie, with whom he had four children