Rove, Karl (1950-…), an American political consultant, served as senior adviser to President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2007. Political experts have called Rove one of the most influential political advisers in the history of the U.S. presidency. Rove, a Republican, served as the adviser and chief strategist for Bush’s campaigns for Texas governor during the 1990’s and for his presidential campaigns in 2000 and 2004. Rove earned such nicknames as “boy genius” and “Bush’s brain” for his successful behind-the-scenes political moves dating back to the 1970’s. Throughout his career, Rove’s aggressive political maneuvers often won the praise of fellow Republicans. At the same time, many of his tactics drew criticism from Democrats and some opponents within his own party.
Karl Christian Rove was born in Denver on Dec. 25, 1950. In 1971, he left his studies at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City to become executive director of the College Republicans, the student branch of the Republican Party. He was elected national chairman of the organization in 1972. During the 1970’s, Rove enrolled at several other universities, but did not earn a degree.
In 1973, Rove worked for the Republican National Committee as an assistant to its then-leader, George H. W. Bush, later to become president of the United States. In 1977, Rove moved to Texas to work for Bush’s political action committee. He also worked on the unsuccessful 1978 congressional campaign of George W. Bush, Bush’s son. Rove helped run the gubernatorial campaign of Bill Clements, who in 1978 became the first Republican to be elected Texas governor in more than 100 years.
From 1981 to 1999, Rove served as president of Karl Rove & Company, a political consulting firm based in Austin. Rove worked as the chief strategist of George W. Bush’s successful governor’s campaigns in 1994 and 1998. After Rove helped Bush win the presidency in 2000, Bush named Rove his senior adviser. Rove also served as assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff for policy in 2005 and 2006. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Rove worked as a television news analyst and as a political columnist. Rove’s book Courage and Consequence: My Life As a Conservative in the Fight (2010) describes his life and political views. He is also the author of The Triumph of William McKinley: Why the Election of 1896 Still Matters (2015).
During the 2012 elections, Rove operated the super PAC American Crossroads and its sister nonprofit organization, Crossroads GPS. A super PAC is a political organization that cannot coordinate its activities with candidates but can finance advertising praising or attacking them. In later years, Rove wrote articles about politics and appeared as a commentator on television news programs.
