Government Relations - Missouri
Peter Kinder is an eighth-generation native of Southeast Missouri, former President Pro Tem of the state Senate, and former Lieutenant Governor.
Early in his career Peter worked as a staff attorney with Drury Industries, doing real estate development work for the family of entrepreneurs who founded regional hotel chain. In 1987 Peter made a career change into the publishing field, joining a rapidly growing small-town newspaper publishing group.
In 1992 Peter won election to a seat in the state Senate to begin the first of three terms there. His last term saw him elected by senators to the top leadership post in that chamber. In 2004 Kinder won election to the first of three terms as Lt. Governor of Missouri. He served as acting Governor for 108 days, wielding the executive authority of state government.
In 2017, President Trump named Kinder co-chair of the Delta Regional Authority, a federal development agency charged with improving conditions across 252 low-income counties in eight states of the Lower Mississippi Valley. In less than 10 months that he held that post before resigning, Kinder slashed the overhead budget by a half-million dollars and reduced staff by one-third, freeing resources to go to communities in need.
Kinder resides in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where he and members of his family have long been involved with Southeast Health Systems, which was acquired by Mercy in early 2024.
