REP. EMANUEL CLEAVER, II (D-MO)
Emanuel Cleaver II (born October 26, 1944) is a United Methodist pastor and an American politician who is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Cleaver represents Missouri’s 5th congressional district, elected in 2005. The district includes the southern three-fourths of Kansas City, including all of the city south of the Missouri River, as well as the more rural counties of Lafayette, Ray, and Saline east of Jackson. Cleaver is a member of the Democratic Party, and in January 2011, he became chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, a position he held until 2013.
Cleaver served on the Kansas City Council from 1979 to 1991, until he was elected Mayor, serving from 1991 to 1999. In 2004, Cleaver was elected to represent Missouri’s 5th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Cleaver was born in Waxahachie, Texas, the son of Marie (née McKnight) and Lucky G. Cleaver. He grew up in public housing in Wichita Falls, Texas. He graduated from Prairie View A&M University where he was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Cleaver then moved to Kansas City, Missouri where he founded a branch of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and received a Master of Divinity degree from St. Paul School of Theology.
Cleaver was the pastor at the St. James United Methodist Church in Kansas City, Missouri from March 1972 until June 28, 2009.
