Matthew Hansen "Matt" Mead (born March 11, 1962), is the 32nd and current Governor of Wyoming.

Early Life

Mead is the son of Peter Mead and Mary Hansen Mead (1935-1996), the GOP

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 gubernatorial nominee in 1990, and the grandson of the late Governor and U.S. Senator Clifford P. Hansen. Mary Mead, considered an expert horsewoman

Equestrianism

Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...

, was killed in a horseback accident while working cattle

Cattle

Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

 in Grand Teton National Park

Grand Teton National Park

Grand Teton National Park is a United States National Park located in northwestern Wyoming, U.S. The Park consists of approximately and includes the major peaks of the long Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. Only south of Yellowstone...

. Mead grew up in Wyoming

Jackson, Wyoming

Jackson is a town located in the Jackson Hole valley of Teton County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 8,647 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Teton County....

. He has an older brother, Bradford Scott "Brad" Mead, a Jackson attorney, and an older sister, Muffy Mead-Ferro of Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...

, Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

, the author of Confessions of a Slacker Mom.

US Attorney and Senate Election

Mead is a former United States Attorney

United States Attorney

United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...

 based in the capital city of Cheyenne

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...

. He served under appointment of U.S. President George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 from 2001 to 2007. In 2007, Mead resigned as U.S. Attorney to seek the seat vacated by the death of fellow Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 Craig L. Thomas. His resignation was required under the Hatch Act of 1939

Hatch Act of 1939

The Hatch Act of 1939 is a United States federal law whose main provision is to prohibit federal employees in the executive branch of the federal government, except the President and the Vice President, from engaging in partisan political activity...

. He lost in the Republican State Central Committee by fourteen votes on the third ballot from being one of the three candidates from which Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 Governor Dave Freudenthal

Dave Freudenthal

David Duane "Dave" Freudenthal , is an American politician who served as the 31st Governor of Wyoming. A Democrat, he was reelected to his second term on November 7, 2006, and announced on March 4, 2010, that he would not attempt to seek a third term as Governor.-Education and early...

 could make his selection. Freudenthal chose state Senator John Barrasso

John Barrasso

John Anthony Barrasso is the junior U.S. Senator from Wyoming and a member of the Republican Party. He was appointed to the Senate following Craig L. Thomas's death and won a special election in 2008 to fill the remaining four years of Thomas's term....

 of Casper

Casper, Wyoming

Casper is the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States.. Casper is the second-largest city in Wyoming , according to the 2010 census, with a population of 55,316...

.

Governor

In the election

Wyoming gubernatorial election, 2010

The 2010 Wyoming gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010 to elect the Governor of Wyoming, who will serve a four-year term to begin in January 2011...

 held on November 2, 2010, Mead handily defeated Leslie Petersen

Leslie Petersen

Leslie Petersen is the former chairwoman of the Wyoming Democratic Party and her party's nominee for Governor of Wyoming in the 2010 election.She won the Aug. 17, 2010 primary with approximately 48 percent of the vote....

, the former chairman of the Wyoming Democratic Party

Wyoming Democratic Party

The Wyoming Democratic Party is the local branch of the Democratic Party in the state of Wyoming. The party is led by State Party Chair Chuck Herz.-Legislative leaders:*Senate Minority Leader: John Hastert*House Minority Leader: W. Patrick Goggles...

.

Mead won the Republican gubernatorial primary with 30,272 votes, having defeated State Auditor Rita Meyer

Rita Meyer

Rita C. Meyer currently serves Wyoming's 19th State Auditor and was a candidate for Governor of Wyoming in the 2010 Wyoming gubernatorial election. She lost to Matt Mead on August 17, 2010 by approximately 700 votes.-Early life and education:...

, who polled 29,558 votes. The Fort Bridger

Fort Bridger, Wyoming

Fort Bridger is a census-designated place in Uinta County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 400 at the 2000 census. The town takes its name from the eponymous Fort Bridger established in 1842.-Geography:...

 ranch

Ranch

A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...

er, Ron Micheli

Ron Micheli

Joseph Ronald Micheli, known as Ron Micheli , is a former director of the Wyoming Department of Agriculture who also served from 1977-1992 in the Wyoming House of Representatives. He ran a strong third-place finish as a candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2010. His primary...

, finished in a strong third position with 27,592 votes. State House Speaker

Speaker (politics)

The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...

 Colin M. Simpson

Colin M. Simpson

Colin Simpson is a Republican member of the Wyoming House of Representatives, representing the 24th district since 1999 and has been the Speaker of the House since 2008. He finished fourth in the race for the 2010 gubernatorial election...

 trailed in fourth place with 16,673 votes.

Personal

Mead is married to the former Carol L. Mintzer (born ca. 1965), and the couple has two children.

External links

• Wyoming Governor Matt Mead official state site
• Matt Mead for Governor official campaign site

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