Robert T. Bennett

As of 2012 Robert T. Bennett was chairman of the Ohio Republican Party (USA), and one of three Ohio representatives to the Republican National Committee, of which he had been a member for more than two decades.

Bennett was elected chairman of the Ohio Republican Party in 1988, and remained until 2009. At the time of his election the party held no statewide offices or legislative majorities; within a decade it had control of all three branches of the Ohio government. During his tenure, Republicans held the Ohio governor's office for 16 years, won every statewide office, held majorities in the Ohio House and Senate, won unanimous control of the Ohio Supreme Court, and won more than 63 percent of all county elective offices in the state.

Bennett qualified as a Certified Public Accountant and an attorney specializing in tax and business law. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Cleveland Bar Association, the Ohio Bar Association, and the American Society of Attorney-Certified Public Accountants, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the Cleveland Chapter of the Ohio CPA's American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He has written several publications on tax law and a is guest lecturer to various professional and political organizations on the issues of state and federal tax law and campaign management.

Bennett has been a member of the Boards of Trustees and Directors of Ohio business and civic organizations including University Hospital Case Medical Center Board and Southwest General Health Center of Cleveland, the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections (Chairman) and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati, where he served as chairman of the board.

As of 2012 Bennett resided in Cleveland, Ohio, with his wife Ruth Ann. They have two adult children. He was born and raised in Columbus, where he graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from the Ohio State University in December 1960. He earned his Juris Doctor Degree from Cleveland Marshall Law School of Baldwin Wallace College (now Cleveland State University).