Bob Krueger took on a variety of roles during his career in public service. Including becoming a member of both houses of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate.
A native of New Braunfels in central Texas, he was a member of the Democratic Party. He represented the 21st District of Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives before holding statewide office.
Passed away on April 30, 2022
Bob Krueger has died. According to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, the cause was congestive heart failure. Additionally, they stated that he was at his home in New Braunfels at the time.
Krueger was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1974. Democratic incumbent O.C. Fisher was not running for re-election in the 21st District. Krueger was later re-elected in 1976.
Two years later, Krueger ran for one of Texas' seats in the U.S. Senate. He would narrowly lose to Republican incumbent John Tower, who later became the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. The following year, U.S. President Jimmy Carter appointed him to a diplomatic role. Focusing on matters regarding Mexico at the U.S. Department of State. Krueger briefly continued to hold the role in the following administration.
In 1984, he again ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate. Finishing third in the Democratic primary behind U.S.
Representative Kent Hance and State Senator Lloyd Doggett, the eventual nominee. Doggett later lost the general election in a landslide to the Republican nominee, U.S. Representative Phil Gramm. Gramm later twice chaired the Senate Banking Committee.
In 1990, Krueger was decisively elected to the Texas Railroad Commission. Three years later, longtime Texas U.S.
Senator Lloyd Bentsen resigned to become U.S. secretary of the treasury. Bensten had been the sitting chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and was the 1988 Democratic Vice Presidential choice. Texas Governor Ann Richards appointed Krueger to fill the vacant Senate seat.
It would be a quick turnaround, as a special election for the seat was scheduled within a few months.
He was also attached to Democratic President Bill Clinton, who'd quickly become very unpopular among the electorate. In large part due to mishandling of financial and military policies. The latter tended to be unjustly and incorrectly associated with Defense Secretary Les Aspin. In the end, Krueger lost the special election in blowout fashion.
Would return to diplomacy
After the loss, Bob Krueger would return to work in the field of diplomacy. He became the U.S. ambassador to Burundi in 1994, followed by serving as U.S. ambassador to Botswana beginning in 1996. Krueger also took on a special role with the State Department involving the Southern Africa Development Community.
Krueger and his wife, Kathleen, would write a book about their experiences in Burundi.
Kathleen has been a member of the city council and mayor pro tem of New Braunfels. They had three children together.
Bob Krueger also ventured into academia. He took on academic positions at several prominent universities around Texas.
