Frank Keating took over as president and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers in January 2003 after serving two terms as Oklahoma's 25th governor.
As president and CEO of ACLI, Governor Keating is the chief representative and spokesman for the life insurance industry in Washington, D.C., and all 50 state capitals. He and his staff work as advocates for more than 300 legal reserve life insurer and fraternal benefit society member companies. ACLI's members account for 90 percent of the assets and premiums of the U.S life insurance and annuity industry.
Governor Keating has played a leading role in promoting public policies to boost Americans' retirement security and long-term savings. He regularly advocates on Capitol Hill and to the Obama administration on the need to make Americans' retirement security a national priority.
Born in St. Louis in 1944, Keating grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and a law degree from the University of Oklahoma. His 30-year career in law enforcement and public service included stints as an FBI agent; U.S. Attorney and state prosecutor; and Oklahoma House and Senate member. He served Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush in the Treasury, Justice, and Housing departments. His service in Treasury and Justice gave him responsibility for all federal criminal prosecutions in the nation and oversight over such agencies as the Secret Service, U.S. Customs, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, U.S. Marshals, the Bureau of Prisons, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
In 1993 he returned to Oklahoma to run for Governor. He won a three-way race by a landslide and was easily reelected in 1998, becoming only the second governor in Oklahoma history to serve two consecutive terms.
Governor Keating won national acclaim in 1995 for his compassionate and professional handling of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City. In the aftermath of the tragedy, he raised more than six million dollars to fund scholarships for the nearly 200 children left with only one or no parents. His accomplishments as Governor include winning a public vote on right-to-work, tort reform, tax cuts, major road building, and education reform.
Governor Keating serves on a Pentagon advisory committee focused on potential nuclear and bio-chemical attacks, as well as the Bipartisan Policy Center's Debt Reduction Task Force. He also serves on the boards of the National Archives Foundation and Mt. Vernon, and is President of the Federal City Council, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to improvement of the nation's capital. He is seen and heard frequently on national news programs as a commentator on a wide variety of topics. Governor Keating also is the author of three award-winning children's books, biographies of Will Rogers, Theodore Roosevelt, and Standing Bear, the Ponca Indian chief who argued Native Americans deserve the same rights as white Americans. He is the recipient of five honorary degrees.
Frank and his wife Cathy live in McLean, Virginia. They have three children and seven grandchildren.