Jon Huntsman, Jr.

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16^th Governor of Utah
Jon Huntsman, Jr.
Image:Jon huntsman jr.jpg Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. taken at a January 2007 dinner function.
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2005
Lieutenant(s)	Gary R. Herbert
Preceded by	Olene S. Walker
Succeeded by	Incumbent

Born	March 26 1960 (1960-03-26) (age 49) Palo Alto, California
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Mary Kaye Huntsman
Profession	Politician
Religion	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon)

Jon Meade Huntsman, Jr. (born March 26, 1960 in Palo Alto, California) is the governor of the state of Utah, having won the office in the 2004 election, with Gary R. Herbert as his lieutenant governor. He was elected with 57% of the vote over Democrat Scott Matheson Jr.. His term as the 16th governor of Utah began on January 3, 2005.

Huntsman is the son of billionaire businessman and philanthropist Jon Huntsman of Huntsman Corporation. His maternal grandfather David B. Haight was an Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which Huntsman and his family are also members. He attended the University of Utah where he became a Sigma Chi and then went on to earn a Bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He has eight brothers and sisters and over 60 nieces and nephews on his side of the family.

Huntsman is a seventh-generation Utahn; his wife Mary Kaye is a first-generation Utahn. Together they have seven children: Mary Anne (b. 1985), Abigail (b. 1988), Elizabeth (b. 1989), Jon III (b. 1991), William (b. 1993), Gracie Mei (b. 2000) who is adopted from China, and another baby girl from India, Asha Bharati (b. 2006).

Prior to his election, Huntsman served as a White House staff assistant in the Reagan Administration, U.S. ambassador to Singapore in the administration of President George H.W. Bush, and as deputy United States trade representative in the George W. Bush Administration. In addition to his public service, Huntsman served as an executive for the Huntsman Corporation, the Huntsman Cancer Foundation and Huntsman Family Holdings Company. Other organizations he has served include the Utah Opera, Envision Utah, the Coalition for Utah's Future, and KSL's Family Now campaign. He served an LDS mission in Taiwan and speaks fluent Standard Mandarin Chinese.

He has presided over the strongest economy in the State's history and has championed the largest increases in education funding in the State's history while simultaneously providing the largest income tax cut and one of the most significant tax reform packages in the State's history. Huntsman campaigned on paying for the expenses associated with the state's explosive growth rates by expanding the economy. He continues to make this one of his top priorities. Huntsman has also spoken in favor of providing health insurance to all Utahns and to preserving the environment for future generations.

Huntsman is also a self-proclaimed fan of the progressive rock genre and on July 30th, 2007, attended a concert by progressive metal band Dream Theater. Later that day, Huntsman signed a proclamation creating "Dream Theater Day" on that date for the state of Utah. According to Dream Theater's website (dreamtheater.net), Huntsman is a keyboard player.

1 Governor
- 1.1 Cabinet
- 1.2 Executive Boards and Commissions
2 External links

[edit] Governor

[edit] Cabinet

Current as of April, 2007


OFFICE	NAME	TERM

Administrative Services, Executive Director	Kim Hood	2006-present
	John Nixon	2006-present
Agriculture, Commissioner	Leonard Blackham	2005-present
Commerce, Executive Director	Francine Giani	2005-present
Corrections, Executive Director	Thomas Patterson	2007-present
Chief Information Officer	J. Stephen Fletcher	2005-present
Environmental Quality, Executive Director	Dianne Nielson	2005-present
Financial Institutions, Commissioner	Edward Leary	2005-present
Health, Executive Director	Dr. David N. Sundwall	2005-present
Human Resources, Executive Director	Jeff Herring	2005-present
Human Services, Executive Director	Lisa-Michele Church	2005-present
Insurance, Commissioner	Kent Michie	2005-present
National Guard	General Brian Tarbet	2005-present
Natural Resources, Executive Director	Michael Styler	2005-present
Public Safety, Commissioner	Robert Flowers	2005-2006
	Scott T. Duncan	2006-present
Transportation, Executive Director	John Njord	2005-present
Division of Fine Arts, Director	Margaret Hunt	2005-present
Community and Culture, Executive Director	Yvette D. Diaz	2005-2006
	Palmer DePaulis	2006-present
Workforce Services, Executive Director	Kristin Cox	2007-present

[edit] Executive Boards and Commissions

[edit] External links

Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. official state site
National Governors Association - Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. biography
Follow the Money - Jon M Huntsman Jr & Gary R Herbert 2004 campaign contributions
On the Issues - Jon Huntsman issue positions and quotes
Project Vote Smart - Governor Jon M. Huntsman Jr. (UT) profile
Dream Theater - The Official Site biographical information

Preceded by Olene S. Walker	Governor of Utah 2005 – present	Incumbent

v • d • e Governors of Utah
Wells • Cutler • Spry • Bamberger • Mabey • Dern • Blood • Maw • Lee • Clyde • Rampton • Matheson • Bangerter • Leavitt • Walker • Huntsman