Robert William Packwood (born September 11, 1932) is an American retired lawyer and politician from Oregon who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1969 to 1995.

During his undergraduate years, he participated in Young Republican activities and worked on political campaigns, including later Governor and U.S.

He received the Root-Tilden Scholarship to New York University's Law School, where he earned national awards in moot court competition and was elected student body president.

In 1965, he founded the Dorchester Conference in Seaside, Oregon, an annual political conclave on the Oregon coast that "pointedly ignored state leadership in the Grand Old Party"[10] to bring Republican officeholders and citizens together, to discuss current issues and pass resolutions taking stands on those issues.

In 1968, Packwood was nominated to run for the U.S. Senate in Oregon as the Republican candidate against Democratic incumbent Wayne Morse.

Morse had been elected to the Senate as a Republican in 1944 and 1950, then switched parties due to his liberal views, and was easily re-elected as a Democrat in 1956 and 1962.

Packwood voted in favor of the bill establishing Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a federal holiday, and the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 (as well as to override Ronald Reagan's veto).

[19] Two years before the Roe v. Wade decision by the Supreme Court, Packwood introduced the Senate's first abortion legalization bill, but he was unable to attract a co-sponsor for it.

[20] His abortion-rights movement stance earned him the loyalty of many feminist groups,[21] and numerous awards, including those from the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (January 10, 1983) and the National Women's Political Caucus (October 23, 1985).

[3] He played a major role in the enactment of the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area Act,[22] sponsoring a bill which protected scenic Hells Canyon, the deepest river gorge in North America, by making it into a 652,488-acre (2,640.53 km2) National Recreation Area on the borders of northeastern Oregon and western Idaho.

[27] President Ronald Reagan had proposed the idea of tax reform in 1984, but Packwood's initial response was indifferent.

[28] And he could be stubborn; in 1988, he was carried feet-first into the Senate Chamber by Capitol Police for a quorum call on campaign finance reform legislation.

[29][30] Packwood's political career began to unravel in November 1992, when a Washington Post story detailed claims of sexual abuse and assault from ten women, chiefly former staffers and lobbyists.

[32][33] Packwood defeated the Democratic nominee, Representative Les AuCoin, 52.1% to 46.5%–easily his closest race since his initial run for the seat a quarter-century earlier.