Bill Phelps was born and raised in Nevada, Missouri. He attended the University of Missouri - Columbia and graduated with a degree in economics in 1956 and a law degree in 1959. Following graduation he began practicing law with a Kansas City firm. Phelps was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives from the Kansas City area in 1960 and was re-elected five times. In 1972, he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Missouri and was re-elected in 1976. Phelps campaigned on a pledge to be Missouri's first "full time" Lieutenant Governor and upon his election to that office he gave up his law practice. In 1980, Phelps was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of Missouri. He lost the Republican primary election to former Governor Kit Bond.
After a fourteen-year absence from public life, in 1994 Phelps ran for Congress in Missouri's Fourth Congressional District. Phelps won the primary, but was defeated in November by the incumbent, Ike Skelton. Phelps has worked as the national spokesman for Americans for Fair Tax, a group that advocates replacing the income tax with a national sales tax. After a successful career in public service, Phelps became Senior Vice-President of American General Insurance Company.
His Boys State career started in 1951, when he was elected Chief Justice of the MBS Supreme Court. A former member of the Boys State staff, he has been one of Missouri Boys State's greatest supporters and benefactors. A frequent keynote speaker, Phelps contributed to the youth of Missouri in many ways through his involvement with Missouri Boys State.
