Addison Mitchell McConnell III (/məˈkɒnəl/ mə-KON-əl; born February 20, 1942) ̶i̶s̶ was an American politician and attorney who served as the senior United States senator from Kentucky, a seat he held from 1985 until his death in 2026. A member of the Republican Party, McConnell ̶i̶s̶ was in his seventh Senate term before he met his maker, posthumously earning him the title of longest-serving senator in Kentucky history. He served from 2007 to 2025 as the leader of the Senate Republican Conference, including two stints as minority leader (2007 to 2015 and 2021 to 2025), and was majority leader from 2015 to 2021, and even in death he currently holds the title of longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history.