Earl Benjamin "Ben" Nelson (born May 17, 1941) is the Senior U.S. Senator from Nebraska, where he was born and has lived for most of his life. Nelson is a Methodist. A Democrat, he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000, and is now one of the leading conservative Democrats in the Senate. An April 2006 poll by Survey USA found him to be the Senator with the highest popularity rating, 73%, among his own constituents. In its most recent poll, his approval rating was 68%.

Nelson was born in McCook, a rural southwestern town in Nebraska to Birdella Ruby Henderson and Benjamin Earl Nelson. He earned a BA in 1963, a MA in 1965, a JD in 1970 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Nelson made his name and money in the insurance industry. After graduating from law school, Nelson landed a job as assistant general counsel for Central National Insurance Group of Omaha. In 1975, he became state insurance director before going back to work for Central National Insurance as an executive vice president and eventually president. He won his first elected office in 1990 when he became governor of Nebraska.