Terry Branstad
Terry Branstad (born November 17, 1946, in Leland, Iowa) is the United States Ambassador to China. He previously was the longest-serving governor in U.S. history,[1] serving in the state of Iowa from 1983 to 1999 and again from 2011 to 2017. He also served as the president of Des Moines University from 2003 to 2009.
| Terry Branstad | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| United States Ambassador to China From: May 24, 2017 â | |||
| President | Donald Trump | ||
| Predecessor | Max Baucus | ||
| Successor | Incumbent (no successor) | ||
| 42nd Governor of Iowa From: January 14, 2011 â May 24, 2017 | |||
| Lieutenant | Kim Reynolds | ||
| Predecessor | Chet Culver | ||
| Successor | Kim Reynolds | ||
| 39th Governor of Iowa From: January 14, 1983 â January 15, 1999 | |||
| Lieutenant | Robert Anderson Jo Ann Zimmerman Joy Corning | ||
| Predecessor | Robert Ray | ||
| Successor | Tom Vilsack | ||
| Information | |||
| Party | Republican | ||
| Spouse(s) | Chris Branstad | ||
| Religion | Catholic | ||
Branstad received a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of Iowa in 1969 and a law degree from Drake University Law School in 1974. He served in the U.S. Army from 1969-1971. Branstad served three terms in the Iowa House of Representatives. He was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1978 and Governor in 1982. Branstad chaired the National Governors Association in 1989-1990. Iowa's longest-serving Governor, Branstad left office with a historically low 2.7% unemployment rate and $900 million budget surplus.[2]
Branstad was re-elected governor in 1986, 1990, and 1994, after which he stepped down, becoming Iowa's longest-serving Governor in the process. He then ran again for Governor in 2010 (defeating Democratic incumbent Chet Culver) and was re-elected in 2014. In 2015 he became the longest serving Governor of any state.
In 2017, with massive GOP majorities in the Iowa legislature,[3] Branstad signed into law legislation massively expanding gun rights, including enacting and expanding a stand-your-ground law, providing legal advantages to gun owners, and giving additional rights to minors, among other provisions.[4] He also signed voter ID legislation into law[5] and defunded Planned Parenthood.[6]
In May 2017, Branstad was confirmed as the U.S. Ambassador to China.[7] He resigned as Iowa governor on May 24 to take up his new position.[1] Even before becoming the Ambassador to China, Branstad had a close relationship with Xi Jinping.[8] He arrived in China in late-June 2017.[9]
References
- â 1.0 1.1 Wilson, Reid (May 24, 2017). Longest-serving governor in American history steps down. The Hill. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
- â Iowa Workforce Development: Iowa Historical Labor Force Data
- â Russell, Joyce (November 9, 2016). Iowa Senate Turns Republican in Tuesday Voting. Iowa Public Radio. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
- â De Lea, Brittany (April 13, 2017). Iowa Passes Massive Expansion of Gun Rights, More States to Follow?. Fox Business. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
- â Klukowski, Ken (May 6, 2017). Iowa Adopts Voter-ID Law. Breitbart News. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
- â Hellmann, Jessie (May 19, 2017). Four Planned Parenthood clinics to close in Iowa after defunding. The Hill. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
- â Carney, Jordain (May 22, 2017). Senate votes to confirm US ambassador to China. The Hill. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
- â Wolfgang, Ben (May 29, 2017). New ambassador, top ethanol advocate sent in to smooth over Chinese crisis. The Washington Times. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
- â Chin, Josh (June 28, 2017). Terry Branstad's Arrival in Beijing Ends U.S. Embassy's Months of Limbo. Fox Business. Retrieved July 13, 2017.