Sam Brownback, in full Samuel Dale Brownback, (born September 12, 1956, Garnett, Kansas, U.S.), American Republican politician, who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1995–96) and of the U.S. Senate(1996–2011) before becoming governor of Kansas (2011–18). He later served as ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom (2018– ) in the administration of Pres. Donald Trump.