Jeff Colyer was sworn in as governor of Kansas on January 31, 2018. Prior to becoming governor, Colyer served as lieutenant governor from 2011-2018 and was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 2006 and the Kansas Senate in 2008.

Colyer is a fifth-generation Kansan from Hays and is a craniofacial/plastic surgeon. He has volunteered both at home and internationally, including in dangerous war zones such as Afghanistan, Iraq, the Balkans, Libya, and Africa. In 1994, Colyer served as a volunteer with the International Medical Corps and was the only surgeon in southern Rwanda during the genocide.

Colyer also served as a White House Fellow for international affairs under Presidents Ronald Reagan and President George H.W. Bush. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Georgetown University, a master’s degree in international relations from Cambridge University, and a medical doctorate from the University of Kansas, School of Medicine.

Colyer and his wife, Ruth, have three daughters Alexandra, Serena and Dominique.