Mitt Romney, 70th Governor of Massachusetts

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Gov. Willard Mitt Romney

Also Known As: "Mitt Romney", "Willard Mitt Romney", "Mittens", "Willard Mitt"
Birthdate:
Birthplace: Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, United States
Immediate Family:

Son of George W. Romney, Governor of Michigan and Lenore Emily Romney
Husband of Ann Lois Romney
Father of Tagg Romney; Private; Private; Private and Private
Brother of Private; Private and G. Scott Romney

Occupation: Governor of Massachusetts
Managed by: Jordan Andrew Kimball
Last Updated:
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Immediate Family

About Mitt Romney, 70th Governor of Massachusetts

Mitt Romney is an American politician, lawyer, and businessman serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and was the Republican Party's nominee for president of the United States in the 2012 election, losing to the then incumbent president, Barack Obama.

Raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, by George and Lenore Romney, he spent over two years in France as a Mormon missionary. He married Ann Davies in 1969; they have five sons. Active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) throughout his adult life, Romney served as bishop of his ward and later as a stake president for an area covering Boston and many of its suburbs. By 1971, he had participated in the political campaigns of both his parents. In 1971 Romney graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from Brigham Young University (BYU) and in 1975 he received a JD–MBA degree from Harvard. He became a management consultant and in 1977 joined Bain & Company in Boston. As Bain's chief executive officer (CEO), he helped lead the company out of a financial crisis. In 1984, he co-founded and led the spin-off company Bain Capital, a private equity investment firm that became one of the largest of its kind in the nation.

After stepping down from Bain Capital and his local leadership role in the LDS Church, Romney was the Republican nominee in the 1994 United States Senate election in Massachusetts. After losing to five-term incumbent Ted Kennedy, he resumed his position at Bain Capital. Years later, a successful stint as president and CEO of the then-struggling Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics led to a relaunch of his political career. Elected governor of Massachusetts in 2002, Romney helped develop and later signed a health care reform law (commonly called "Romneycare") that provided near-universal health insurance access through state-level subsidies and individual mandates to purchase insurance. He also presided over the elimination of a projected $1.2–1.5 billion deficit through a combination of spending cuts, increased fees, and closing corporate tax loopholes. He did not seek reelection in 2006, focusing instead on his campaign for the Republican nomination in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Though he won several primaries and caucuses, Romney ultimately lost the nomination to Senator John McCain. Romney's considerable net worth, estimated in 2012 at $190–250 million, helped finance his political campaigns before 2012, when he again ran for and won the Republican presidential nomination, becoming the first Mormon to be a major party's nominee. He lost the election to President Obama, losing the Electoral College by a margin of 206–332 and the popular vote by 47%–51%, almost five million votes.

After reestablishing residency in Utah, Romney announced his campaign for the U.S. Senate seat held by the retiring Orrin Hatch in the 2018 election; he defeated state representative Mike Kennedy in the Republican primary and Democratic nominee Jenny Wilson in the general election. In doing so, he became only the third person ever to be elected governor of one state and U.S. senator for another state (the others are Sam Houston and William Bibb). (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Sources

  • "Ann Davies & Mitt Romney." Pennsylvania, Lawrence County Index of Marriage Announcement, 1858-2006 via MyHeritage. < link > Accessed 9 May 2022.
    • Names: Ann Davies & Mitt Romney; Marriage year: 1969; Spouse 1: Ann Davies; Spouse 2: Mitt Romney; Publication: Mar 25 1969; Published by: New Castle News; Page: 8.
  • "Davies-Romney Wedding." Deseret News via MyHeritage, published 20 March 1969, p. A13. < link > Accessed 9 May 2022.
  • "Mitt Romney." Wikipedia, revision of 4 May 2022. < link > Accessed 9 May 2022.

See also

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Mitt Romney, 70th Governor of Massachusetts's Timeline

1947
March 12, 1947
Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, United States
1970
March 21, 1970
Provo, Utah County, Utah, United States