Jon Huntsman, Jr.

Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. taken at a January 2007 dinner function.

16th Governor of Utah IncumbentAssumed office
January 3, 2005 Lieutenant Gary R. HerbertPreceded by Olene S. WalkerBorn March 26, 1960(1960-03-26) (age 48)
Palo Alto, CaliforniaPolitical party RepublicanSpouse Mary Kaye Huntsman Profession PoliticianReligion The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

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..[1] 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 References
3 External links

Governor

Cabinet

Current as of April, 2007

OFFICE NAME TERM Administrative Services, Executive Director Kim Hood2006-present John Nixon 2006-present Agriculture, Commissioner Leonard Blackham2005-present Commerce, Executive Director Francine Giani2005-present Corrections, Executive Director Thomas Patterson2007-present Chief Information Officer J. Stephen Fletcher2005-present Environmental Quality, Executive Director Dianne Nielson2005-present Financial Institutions, Commissioner Edward Leary2005-present Health, Executive Director Dr. David N. Sundwall2005-present Human Resources, Executive Director Jeff Herring2005-present Human Services, Executive Director Lisa-Michele Church2005-present Insurance, Commissioner Kent Michie2005-present National Guard General Brian Tarbet2005-present Natural Resources, Executive Director Michael Styler2005-present Public Safety, Commissioner Robert Flowers2005-2006 Scott T. Duncan 2006-present Transportation, Executive Director John Njord2005-present Division of Fine Arts, Director Margaret Hunt2005-present Community and Culture, Executive Director Yvette D. Diaz2005-2006 Palmer DePaulis2006-present Workforce Services, Executive Director Kristin Cox2007-present