Alan D. Wheat is Chairman of the Polsinelli law firm’s national Public Policy Practice. Previously, Wheat led Wheat Government Relations, which he founded in 1997.
A former Congressman, Wheat was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he was the youngest member in Congressional history to be appointed to the powerful Rules Committee. Wheat also was one of the nation’s first African-Americans to represent a majority white district.
Wheat left the House in 1994 to run for a seat in the Senate. He was the first minority candidate selected as a major party nominee for statewide office in Missouri. After his unsuccessful Senate race, Wheat was VP of Public Policy and Government Relations with CARE. After CARE, he served as Deputy Campaign Manager in the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign.
Wheat holds a BA in Economics from Grinnell College.
