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'''James Richard "Rick" Perry''' (b. 1950) has served as the [[Republican]] Governor of [[Texas]] from December 2000, when he succeeded then-Governor [[George W. Bush]] and was elected to full four year terms in 2002 and 2006. He is running for an unprecedented third term in 2010, and defeated Senator [[Kay Bailey Hutchison]] in the GOP primary, March 2, 2010.

'''James Richard "Rick" Perry''' (b. 1950) has served as the [[Republican]] Governor of [[Texas]] from December 2000, when he succeeded then-Governor [[George W. Bush]] and was elected to full four year terms in 2002 and 2006. He is running for an unprecedented third term in 2010, and defeated Senator [[Kay Bailey Hutchison]] in the GOP primary, March 2, 2010.

==Career==

==Career==

A former Democratic state legislator who became a Republican in 1989, Perry was elected to a full term as governor in 2002, which he served, and then reelected to another full term in 2006 with only 39 percent of the vote.  Previously he served as the agriculture commissioner (1991-1999), reflecting his background as a college graduate with a degree in animal science.

A former Democratic state legislator who became a Republican in 1989, Perry was elected to a full term as governor in 2002, which he served, and then reelected to another full term in 2006 with only 39 percent of the vote.  Previously he served as the agriculture commissioner (1991-1999), reflecting his background as a college graduate with a degree in animal science. Perry is also well known for his voluptuous head of hair.

 

==Controversies==

==Controversies==

He was much criticized concerning his attempt in early 2007 to mandate by executive order the [[HPV vaccine]] for young girls as a condition of entering school.  Defiant, Perry then felt he had no choice but to sign a bill overriding his mandate because it had been passed by a huge majority in both houses of the legislature.

He was much criticized concerning his attempt in early 2007 to mandate by executive order the [[HPV vaccine]] for young girls as a condition of entering school.  Defiant, Perry then felt he had no choice but to sign a bill overriding his mandate because it had been passed by a huge majority in both houses of the legislature.