Doug Burgum | |
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United States Secretary of the Interior | |
Nominee | |
Assuming office TBD | |
President | Donald Trump |
Deputy | Katharine MacGregor (nominee) |
Succeeding | Deb Haaland Walter Cruickshank (acting) |
33rd Governor of North Dakota | |
In office December 15, 2016 – December 15, 2024 | |
Lieutenant | Brent Sanford Tammy Miller |
Preceded by | Jack Dalrymple |
Succeeded by | Kelly Armstrong |
Personal details | |
Born | Douglas James Burgum August 1, 1956 Arthur, North Dakota, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouses |
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Children | 3 |
Education | North Dakota State University (BA) Stanford University (MBA) |
Signature | |
Douglas James Burgum (born August 1, 1956) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 33rd governor of North Dakota from 2016 to 2024. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Burgum was born and raised in Arthur, North Dakota. After graduating from North Dakota State University in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in university studies and earning an MBA from Stanford University two years later, he mortgaged inherited farmland in 1983 to invest in Great Plains Software in Fargo. Becoming its president in 1984, he took the company public in 1997. Burgum sold the company to Microsoft for $1.1 billion in 2001. While working at Microsoft, he managed Microsoft Business Solutions. He has served as board chairman for Australian software company Atlassian and SuccessFactors. Burgum is the founder of Kilbourne Group, a Fargo-based real-estate development firm, and also is the co-founder of Arthur Ventures, a software venture capital group.
Burgum won the 2016 North Dakota gubernatorial election in a landslide. He was reelected by a wide margin in 2020. In June 2023, Burgum launched a campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. He ended his candidacy in early December 2023, and became an advisor on the Trump campaign's energy policy. On November 14, 2024, President-elect Trump announced his intention to nominate Burgum as the United States Secretary of the Interior and named him chair of the National Energy Council.[1]