(gĕp´härt) (Richard Andrew Gephardt) , 1941-, U.S. congressman (1977-2005), b. St. Louis. A lawyer, he was first elected to the House of Representatives as a Democrat from Missouri in 1976. He was influential in trade issues, championing restrictions on imports as a means of protecting American jobs. Gephardt was House majority leader (1989-95) and minority leader (1995-2003). Often a potential presidential candidate (he sought but failed to win the 1988 and 2004 Democratic nominations), Gephardt criticized the Clinton administration from a position closer to traditional liberalism.
