Robert Harder

Robert Clarence Harder (June 4, 1929 – April 12, 2014) was an American politician and Methodist clergyman. He was the longest-serving cabinet secretary in Kansas history.

Born in Horton, Kansas, he received his bachelor's degree from Baker University, his master's degree in theology from Perkins School of Theology, and his doctorate degree from Boston University. Harder then served as pastor of a United Methodist Church. From 1961 to 1967, he served in the Kansas House of Representatives as a Democrat. He then served as Secretary of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation from 1967 to 1987, and later served as Secretary of the Department of Health and Environment. He died in Topeka, Kansas, of a brain tumor.