Trent Lott of Mississippi is the Senate's Minority Leader.

He was born October 9, 1941, in Grenada County, Mississippi, the son of a shipyard worker and a schoolteacher. After receiving his B.S. in public administration from the University of Mississippi in 1963, Lott continued his studies and earned a J.D. from the same institution in 1967. He is married to Patricia Thompson of Pascagoula, Mississippi, and has a daughter Tyler and a son Chet.

Senator Lott began his political career in 1968 as administrative assistant to U.S. Representative William Colmer, a Democrat. He was elected to the House in his own right in 1972. In 1979 his colleagues elected him chairman of the House Republican Research Committee; a year later he they made him Republican whip. He served in the House until 1988, when he was elected to the Senate. Senator Lott has just been reelected to his third six-year term with almost 66% of the vote.

Senator Lott served as Secretary of the Senate Republican Conference until 1995, when he was elected as Senate majority whip. He is the first person to be elected to the position of whip in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. His elevation to majority leader came on June 12, 1996, when Senator Robert Dole resigned to run against then-President Bill Clinton. He then lost the position of Majority Leader when James Jeffords of Vermont switched his party affiliation from Republican to Independent. This changed the make-up of the US Senate to 50 Democrats, 49 Republicans and one Independent.

Lott also serves on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Rules Committee.