Rudolph Andreas "André" Bauer (born March 20, 1969) is an American businessman and politician who was the 87th Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina from 2003 to 2011.

He graduated from Irmo High School and received a bachelor of science in business administration from the University of South Carolina in 1991, where he was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

In 2001, Bauer was recognized as Alumnus of the Year for the University of South Carolina College of Applied Professional Science.

The primary of June 13, 2006, ended with Mike Campbell receiving 47 percent of the vote, Andre Bauer 37%, and Henry Jordan 18%.

[5] In 2008, Bauer supported legislation, enacted by the South Carolina General Assembly, that created a new state license plate containing the words "I Believe" and a Christian cross superimposed on a stained glass window.

[9] Judge Currie also noted:[9] The "I Believe" Act had its genesis in Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer’s desire to do here what had been unsuccessful in the state of Florida–to gain legislative approval of a specialty plate promoting the majority religion: Christianity.

Whether motivated by sincerely held Christian beliefs or an effort to purchase political capital with religious coin, the result is the same.

The statute is clearly unconstitutional and defense of its implementation has embroiled the state in unnecessary (and expensive) litigation.In the summer of 2009, Governor Mark Sanford disappeared for several days, leading to the exposure of an adulterous affair and allegations that he had committed numerous misdemeanors.

In January 2010, Bauer came under fire for comparing public school children who receive free lunches to stray animals who should not be fed.

[10] "My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals," Bauer said during a town hall meeting.

[15] On July 17, 2020, President Trump nominated Bauer to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Belize.

[21] On May 6, 2003, Bauer was stopped on Assembly Street in downtown Columbia, South Carolina, for running two red lights and speeding up to 60 mph in a 35-mph zone.

On February 25, 2006, Bauer was pulled over for speeding over 100 mph in Chester County, South Carolina in a state-issued car, but he was allowed to proceed without a ticket or warning.

[21] On May 23, 2006, Bauer was injured in a single-engine airplane crash shortly after taking off from a small airfield in Blacksburg, South Carolina.

[23] The incident was voted "Best Political Stunt in 2006" by readers of the Free Times[clarification needed] alternative weekly tabloid.

[27] Though in no way relieving Bauer of his being responsible for the crash,[28] a June 11, 2009 court ruling [clarification needed] points to a possible reason the airplane might not have achieved sufficient takeoff speed.