William L. Webster

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William L. Webster (born September 17, 1953) is an American politician from Missouri.

[edit] Early life and career

William Webster is the son of the late Richard M. Webster, who was a prominent Missouri State Senator and Janet Webster. Webster was born and raised in Carthage, Missouri and was a graduate of Carthage Senior High School. He attended Missouri Southern State College and the University of Kansas. He received his law degree from the University of Missouri - Kansas City.

After earning his law degree, Webster worked as an attorney in private practice in Joplin, Missouri. He married the former Susan Tiemann of Kansas City and they have three sons.

[edit] Political career

Webster was elected to Missouri House of Representatives in 1980 and re-elected in 1982. He was recognized as the outstanding first term representative by the Missouri Times in 1981 and in 1983 his colleagues recognized him as one of three outstanding members of the House of Representatives.

In 1984, at the age of 31, he was elected as Attorney General of Missouri, succeeding John Ashcroft. Webster was the youngest person to serve in that position since Robert Franklin Walker was elected as attorney general in 1892, also at the age of 31. Webster was re-elected in 1988.

In 1992 Webster was the Republican nominee for Governor of Missouri, after defeating Roy Blunt and Wendell Bailey in the Republican Primary. The campaign for governor was marked by allegations of corruption relating to a state workers compensation fund that Webster managed as attorney general. Amidst the scandal, Webster lost the general election to Democrat Mel Carnahan by a wide margin.