Paul Helmke

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Walter Paul Helmke Jr. (born November 24, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 33rd Mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana, from 1988 to 2000. A Republican, he defeated the incumbent mayor in 1987 and won re-election in 1991 and 1995, choosing not to run again in 1999. He also led the United States Conference of Mayors as its 55th president from 1997 to 1998. As of 2024, he is the last Republican to hold the Fort Wayne mayor’s office.

Helmke later became a national gun-control advocate, serving as president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence from 2006 to 2011. He argued for stronger gun laws and has spoken about gun rights in broader terms.

He grew up in Fort Wayne, attended North Side High School, and studied political science at Indiana University Bloomington, where he was student body president and joined Phi Kappa Psi. He earned a law degree from Yale University. He has written about his family’s political history, including the book Son of a Son of a Politician (2001).

Helmke’s efforts extend into higher education and public service. In 2013, he joined Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs as director of the Civic Leaders Living-Learning Center, and he was named a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration that same year. He is married to Deborah Andrews Helmke. His family has a long history of public service in Indiana, including his father and grandfather.