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Peter Roskam

American politician (born 1961)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 15, 2026
Entity authorityQ968214
Source-derived summary

Peter James Roskam (born September 13, 1961) is an American politician and lobbyist who is the former U.S. representative for Illinois's 6th congressional district, serving six terms from 2007 to 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party and served as the chief deputy majority whip from 2011 to 2014, ranking fourth among House Republican leaders. Previously, he served in the Illinois Senate and the Illinois House of Representatives. He served as chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Tax Policy for the 115th Congress. Roskam was defeated by Democrat Sean Casten in the 2018 election. In 2023, he was named federal policy head of the lobbying practice at Washington, DC–based law firm BakerHostetler. In January 2025, he was elected chairman of National Endowment for Democracy's board of directors.

Early life, education and career

Roskam was born in Hinsdale, Illinois, the son of Martha (Jacobsen) and Verlyn Ronald Roskam. He was the fourth of five children and was raised in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, graduating from Glenbard West High School. He earned his B.A. in political science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his J.D. from the Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Peter Roskam” as american politician (born 1961). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Peter, Roskam and American.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1961, 2007, 2019, 2011—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1961-09-13. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Peter, Roskam and American providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Peter Roskam”, the useful work is to connect “american politician (born 1961)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q968214. VIAF identifies the subject as 51470146. The Library of Congress control number is no2007074719. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1961, 2007, 2019 and 2011.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Peter Roskam”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Peter Roskam primary sources, Peter Roskam archive and Peter research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Peter Roskam”?
  2. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
  3. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Peter Roskam” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.