Dole was born and raised in Russell, Kansas, where he established a legal career after serving with distinction in the United States Army during World War II.

In April 1945, while engaged in combat near Castel d'Aiano in the Apennine mountains southwest of Bologna, Italy, Dole was seriously wounded by a German shell that struck his upper back and right arm, shattering his collarbone and part of his spine.

Dole was decorated three times, receiving two Purple Hearts for his injuries, and the Bronze Star with "V" Device for valor for his attempt to assist a downed radioman.

[39] Dole served on congressional agriculture committees throughout the course of his political career, and became the Republican Party's chief spokesman on farm policy and nutrition issues in the Senate.

In October 1995, a year before the presidential election, Dole and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich led the Republican-controlled Congress to pass a spending bill that President Clinton vetoed, leading to the federal government shutdown from 1995 to 1996.

On November 13, Republican and Democratic leaders, including Vice President Al Gore, Dick Armey, and Dole, met to try to resolve the budget and were unable to reach an agreement.

[47] From 1992 to 1996, Dole played a major role in mobilizing support for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Senate, and pressuring the Clinton administration and NATO to resolve the war there.

Despite Dole's national exposure from the '76 campaign, he finished behind Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and four others in Iowa and New Hampshire, receiving only 2.5% and 0.4% of votes cast in those contests, respectively.

[53] Dole ceased campaigning after the New Hampshire results and announced his formal withdrawal from the race on March 15, instead being re-elected to his third term as Senator that year.

[56] Dole started out strongly by defeating Vice President George H. W. Bush in the Iowa caucus—Bush finished third, behind television evangelist Pat Robertson.

It included the following line, a gibe at the all-or-nothing rookie Republicans who had ridden the 1994 midterm GOP wave into Congress: "In politics honorable compromise is no sin.

"[60] Dole promised a 15% across-the-board reduction in income tax rates and made former U.S. representative and supply-side economics advocate Jack Kemp of New York his running mate for vice president.

Dole found himself criticized from both the left and the right within the Republican Party over the convention platform, one of the major issues being the inclusion of the Human Life Amendment.

[65] During the infancy of the Internet, Dole-Kemp was the first presidential campaign to have a website, which was set up by Arizona State college students Rob Kubasko and Vince Salvato, and edged out Clinton-Gore.

While only slightly injured in the fall, "the televised image of his painful grimace underscored the age difference between him and Clinton" and proved an ominous sign for Republican hopes of retaking the White House.

[68][69] During the latter half of October 1996, Dole made a campaign appearance with Heather Whitestone, the first deaf Miss America, where both of them signed "I love you" to the crowd.

On his decision to leave politics for good after the 1996 presidential election campaign, despite his guaranteed stature as a former Senate leader, Dole stated, "People were urging [me] to be a hatchet man against Clinton for the next four years.

After leaving office, Dole joined the Washington, D.C. firm Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand, where he was a registered lobbyist on behalf of foreign governments (including those of Kosovo, Taiwan, and Slovenia); the American Society of Anesthesiologists; Tyco International; and the Chocolate Industry Coalition.

[78][79] Dole was head of the Federal City Council, a group of business, civic, education, and other leaders interested in economic development in Washington, D.C., from 1998 to 2002.

[86][87] It has since led to greatly increased global interest in and support for school-feeding programs—which benefit girls and young women, in particular—and won McGovern and Dole the 2008 World Food Prize.

[96] President George W. Bush appointed Dole and Donna Shalala, former United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, as co-chairs of the commission to investigate problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 2007.

[107] During the campaign, Dole criticized Texas senator Ted Cruz, stating that he "question[ed] his allegiance to the party" and that there would be "wholesale losses" if he were to win the Republican nomination.

[120] Senator Dole was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton on January 17, 1997, for service to his country in the military and in his political career.

[121] Dole received the American Patriot Award from the National Defense University in 2004 for his lifelong dedication to the United States and his service in World War II.

[123][124] For his lobbying efforts on behalf of Kosovo Albanians before, during, and after the Kosovo War, Albanian President Bujar Nishani awarded Dole Albania's highest civilian honor, the National Flag Decoration medal, at a May 2017 ceremony in Washington, D.C.[125] Dole was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his service to the nation as a "soldier, legislator and statesman" on January 17, 2018.

[133] For years, he and his wife regularly worshipped at Foundry United Methodist Church, but left in 1995, due to the more liberal leanings of its pastor, J. Philip Wogaman, as well as the attendance of the Clinton family at services.

Dole spent ten months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center recovering from the surgery and experienced three bouts with pneumonia.

Dole was readmitted to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in January 2011 and spent about six days there being treated for a fever and a minor infection.

[144] Dole was hospitalized in November 2012 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, according to then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

[147] In February 2021, Dole announced that he had been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer,[148] and subsequently underwent immunotherapy, forgoing chemotherapy due to its negative effect on his body.