Background
Kirby, Steve T. was born on March 26, 1952 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States.
lawyer lieutenant governor corporate executive
Kirby, Steve T. was born on March 26, 1952 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States.
Steve Kirby graduated with a bachelor of science degree in political science from Arizona State University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Dakota School of Law.
Kirby worked for Western Surety Company from 1977 to 1992 as corporate secretary and senior claim counsel He was a founding partner in South Dakota"s largest venture capital firm, Bluestem Capital Company, which was established in 1992. After serving as Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota from 1993 to 1995, Kirby ran for the Republican nomination for Governor of South Dakota in 2002.
He entered the race after John Thune declared he would not run, but lost the election to Mike Rounds.
Rounds" victory in was one of South Dakota"s greatest political upsets. Until late in 2001, then-Congressman Thune was the front-runner for the nomination.
When Thune passed on the race in order to challenge Senator Tim Johnson, state Attorney General Mark Barnett and Kirby quickly became candidates. Rounds declared his candidacy late, in December 2001 and was out-raised and outspent ten-to-one by each of his opponents.
However, the contest between Kirby and Barnett soon became very negative and "dirty".
Barnett attacked Kirby for not investing in companies based in South Dakota and for his involvement with Collagenesis, a company which removed skin from donated human cadavers and processed them for use. lieutenant became the subject of a massive scandal when it was revealed that the company was using the skins for much more lucrative cosmetic surgery like lip and penis enhancements while burn victims "lie waiting in hospitals as nurses scour the country for skin to cover their wounds, even though skin is in plentiful supply for plastic surgeons". Kirby invested in the company after the scandal broke and Barnett attacked him for it in television advertisements.
However, the advertisements backfired because "the claims were so outlandish, that people thought for sure that they were exaggerated or completely fabricated."
As the two front-runners concentrated on attacking each other, Rounds insisted on running a positive campaign and was not attacked by his opponents.
Kirby considered running for the United States. Senate in 2008 but declined to do southern He has said that he is considering running for the Senate in 2014 following incumbent Senator Tim Johnson"s retirement.
Member American Bar Association, National Bond Claim Association (past board directors), Federal Insurance and Corporation Counsel, Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce (tourism task force), Minnehaha Country Club.
Married Suzie Hustead. Children: Jon, Kelly, Katherine.