Gary Herbert

Gary Richard Herbert (born May 7, 1947) is an American politician who is the 17th and current Governor of Utah. A member of the Republican Party, Herbert has served as governor since August 2009. From July 2015 to July 2016, Herbert served as chair of the National Governors Association. Born in American Fork, Utah, Herbert served for two years as an LDS missionary in the eastern United States following his graduation from high school, then attended Brigham Young University and joined the Utah Army National Guard. After serving in the National Guard, Herbert began a career in real estate and opened his own firm. Herbert won a seat on the Utah County Commission in 1990, where he served 14 years. Herbert also served as presidents of the Utah Association of Counties and Utah Association of Realtors. After initially running for the Republican nomination for governor in 2004, Herbert teamed up with ambassador and businessman Jon Huntsman as his running mate in the general election. Herbert was sworn in as Lieutenant Governor of Utah in 2005, serving one term until he assumed the governorship on August 11, 2009, following the resignation of Governor Huntsman, who was appointed to serve as the United States Ambassador to China by President Barack Obama. Herbert was elected to serve out the remainder of the term in a special election in 2010, defeating Democratic nominee Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon with 64% of the vote. He won election to a full four-year term in 2012, defeating Democratic Businessman Peter Cooke with 68% of the vote and was re-elected to a second full four-year term in 2016. In a recent statement, Herbert declined to say if he will run again for election in 2020.